Serialism closely related to certain works from the de Stijl and Bauhaus movements in design and architecture called "serial art" by some writers (; ; ; ), specifically the paintings of Piet Mondrian, Theo van Doesburg, Bart van Leck, Georg van Tongerloo, Richard Paul Lohse, and Burgoyne Diller, who had been seeking to “avoid repetition and symmetry on all structural levels and working with a limited number of elements” . Stockhausen described the final synthesis in this manner: So serial thinking is something that's come into our consciousness and will be there forever: it's relativity and nothing else. It just says:
Kunst zij ons doel were not well represented. Prominent members of 'De Groep' were: Jan Hendrik van Borssum Buisman, Jules Chapon, Jac Clay, Poppe Damave (chairman), Edgar Fernhout, Frans Funke, Cor Hak, Kees Hak, Anton Heyboer, Marjan Jaspers, Roelof Klein (sculptor), Bart van der Leck, Albert Loots, Jan Meijer, Hans Mulder, Wim Oepts, Kees Okx, Piet Ouborg, Jaap Ploos van Amstel, John Rädecker, Georges Robèr, Charles Roelofsz, Arie Schouten, Wim Schuhmacher, Bert Schutter, Wim Steijn, Levinus Tollenaar, Charley Toorop, Frans Verpoorten, and Jan Wiegers Members were Ben Andréa, Albert Arens, Truida Baaren-Ruysenaars, Nel Bakema, Harry Balm, Elizabeth Frederika van der Ban, Bauk Cornelis Betzema,