Conceptual artist most known for her large-scale, Minimalist installations of handwritten tables of numbers, such as "Konstruktionen" from the 1966-1967 and "Mathematical Music" from the 1980s.
She originally wanted to study piano, but she ended up pursuing visual art at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg, which she entered in 1962.
Her Hanne Darboven Foundation was established in 2000 to provide financial support for young artists.
She was brought up in Rönneburg, a suburb of Hamburg.
She and artist Frank Stella were both known for their Minimalist aesthetics.