Grieder Contemporary is delighted to announce a second solo exhibition by Dieter Meier, after an initial retrospective at our Berlin project room early in the summer of 2010, which itself was followed by a touring exhibition with stopovers at the Falckenberg Collection in Hamburg and the ZKM in Karlsruhe. Our gallery cube in Zurich will be presenting a selection of the works that were originally shown at the Kunsthaus Zurich in 1976.

Between 29 December 1976 and 30 January 1977, the foyer of the Kunsthaus displayed a number of series under the title Dieter Meier – Works 1974-1976. In Glenn O’Brien's view, as a concept artist with a focus on speech and performance Dieter Meier is on a par with Joseph Kosuth, Lawrence Weiner, Art & Language, Robert Barry, Yoko Ono, Dennis Oppenheim and Chris Burden. Starting in 1968, he had been carrying out "actions" in Zurich, Munich and New York and documenting them photographically. He was invited to participate in group exhibitions in Lucerne and New York. In 1972 he took part in the Documenta in Kassel. The solo exhibition at the Kunsthaus Zurich in the winter 1976/1977 is described by Harald Falckenberg as "quite possibly the most important" of his nascent trajectory as a contemporary artist. Others might have used this opportunity to launch a major career; Dieter Meier decided to quit the "art race" and choose a roundabout way to world stardom through his pop vehicle, Yello. 

Photos taken of the original exhibition and its catalogue – recently rediscovered – have helped reconstruct the original list of works. The gallery will feature a selection of those works, some of which are the originals, while others form part of a limited series. Amongst these series are Behind Flowers, Presentations, Lost Pieces, Flying Sculptures and Jumps. 

In Behind Flowers, Bice Curiger presents insignificant objects while seated at a table in front of a monochrome background, like a news presenter. Presentations features a number of people, including Meier's later wife, standing in a landscape and presenting, here again, trivial objects. In Lost Pieces, other items are placed like modern artworks in a neutral setting. Flying Sculptures captures a selection of objects flying through the air against a radiant blue sky. Jumps finds Meier, dressed, as always, like a dandy, captured midway through jumps in black-and-white photographs taken out in the open. In summary Glenn O’Brien described Dieter Meier's oeuvre as "brave and reckless".

Complementary to and concurrent with the exhibition, the gallery is presenting works from 1974 to 1976 at the fair abc – art berlin contemporary – from 13 to 16 September 2012. A major solo exhibition is planned for Paris's Palais de Tokio in 2013. The catalogue Dieter Meier. Works 1968-2012 and the Yello Years appeared in June in English and is available at the gallery or in bookshops.