1931
Born 8 March in Lollar/Hessen

1950-1953
National Academy of Arts, Düsseldorf
Degree in Art and Work Education

1953-1956
Philosophy at the University of Cologne, State Examination

1955
Atelier in an old factory in Düsseldorf (until 1963)

1955-1958
First journey to the Sahara

1953-1958
Encounter with Georges Mathieu, Jean Tinguely and Yves Klein.
Visit to the atelier from Constantin Brancusi shortly after his death.
Informal painting, rapid development of his Dynamischen Strukturen in painting and drawing, also in plaster and metal reliefs. He calls the last-mentioned Licht-Reliefs.

1956
Heinz Mack und Otto Piene found Group ZERO in 1957 in Düsseldorf, which Günther Uecker joins, organise the Abendausstellungen which later become legendary and edit the Catalogue Magazine ZERO Vol. I and Vol. II.

1958
Krefeld Art Award

1958-1959
First Licht-Reliefs, Lichtkuben (light cubes) and Lichtstelen (light pillars).
From the idea of a pulsing pillar of light in the desert, the model of which is exhibited in the Iris Clert gallery in Paris, develops the idea for the so-called Sahara-Projekt; a Utopia which has accompanied the artist ever since. Encounters Piero Manzoni, Enrico Castellani and Lucio Fontana.