SANTA MONICA, CA.- ROSEGALLERY presents Manfred M黮ler Federal Avenue, an exhibition of drawings and works on paper, on view 19 April through 31 May, 2014.
Throughout his career Manfred M黮ler has made large-‐scale, site-‐specific sculptures and installations from diverse materials such as steel, wood, cement, paper, and recycled industrial machine parts. Trained as an engineering draftsman, M黮ler uses architecture, the industrial landscape and simple geometry to explore the relationship between objects, space and meaning. These works unite disparate elements into eloquent combinations of form and color. While his artistic practice is rooted in sculpture, M黮ler has consistently produced sketches and drawings that support and inform his larger works. Sometimes they are studies towards larger projects, but more often the sketches are a response to what is happening in the studio and are conceived of and executed as independent works in their own right. Employing familiar techniques on a smaller scale, M黮ler interrupts the paper's flat surface with incised lines and raised edges to give the drawings a sculptural three-‐dimensionality. These subtly nuanced changes in texture allow light to play on the surface, acting as the point of contact between drawn line and edge tension. M黮ler transforms the humblest of materials into objects of profound poetic beauty. These works on paper continue to serve M黮ler as a rich depository of ideas for his ongoing visual diary.
Manfred M黮ler was born 1950 in D黶seldorf, Germany. From 1967 to 1970 he apprenticed as a technical draftsman, receiving his state license as an engineering draftsman. From 1971 to 1975 he studied visual communication at the Fachlochschule D黶seldorf and from 1976 to 1981 he attended the Kunstakademie in D黶seldorf, Germany -‐ studying under Erwin Heerich (1922-‐2004). After leaving the Kunstakademie in 1981 he was awarded a Cit des Artes Scholarship, Paris, France and received grants from the city of D黶seldorf in 1983, and the German Industry Endowment of the Arts in 1985. In 1989 M黮ler relocated to Los Angeles. Recent selected solo and group exhibitions include: Objects are Closer Than They Appear, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles, CA, 2014; Framing Abstraction: Mark, Symbol, Signifier, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles, CA, 2011; Heidi Cho Gallery, New York, NY, 2010; Heliotropo, Galerie Lopez Quiroga, Mexico City, Mexico, 2010. Public Artworks include: 2002, When a Person Plants a Tree..., public installation, Civic Center and Library, Agora Hills, CA; 2000, Ringrotsiebzehngrad (ringredsevendegrees), Universt鋞 M黱ster, commissioned by the city of M黱ster, Germany; 1998, Twilight and Yearning, installation beneath the Santa Monica Pier, Santa Monica, CA. Manfred M黮ler maintains studios in D黶seldorf, Germany and Santa Monica, California.
