Albert Paley
Albert Paley, an active artist for over 40 years at his studio in Rochester, New York, is the first metal sculptor to receive the coveted Institute Honors awarded by the American Institute of Architects, the AIA’s highest award to a non- architect. “The allure of Paley’s art comes through its intrinsic sense of integration of art and architecture,” as one noted architect stated. Paley, Distinguished Professor, holds an Endowed Chair at the College of Imaging Arts and Sciences at Rochester Institute of Technology.
Commissioned by both public institutions and private corporations, Paley has completed more than 50 site-specific works. Some notable examples are the Portal Gates for the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington DC, Synergy, a ceremonial archway in Philadelphia, the Portal Gates for the New York State Senate Chambers in Albany, Sentinel, a monumental plaza sculpture for Rochester Institute of Technology, as well as a 65-foot sculpture for the entry court of Bausch and Lomb’s headquarters in Rochester, NY. Recently completed works include three sculptures for the National Harbor development near Washington DC, a 130’ long archway named Animals Always for the St. Louis Zoo, a gate for the Cleveland Botanical Gardens in Cleveland, OH, a sculptural relief for Wellington Place, Toronto, Canada, Threshold, a sculpture for the Corporate Headquarters of Klein Steel, Rochester, NY, and Transformation, a ceremonial entranceway for Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa.
Pieces by Albert Paley can be found in the permanent collections of many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.
Broadly published and an international lecturer, Paley received both his BFA and MFA from the Tyler School of Art in Philadelphia. He received honorary doctorates from the University of Rochester in 1989, the State University of New York at Brockport in 1996, St. Lawrence University, in Canton, New York in 1997, and the University of Gothenburg, in Sweden in 2012.
Herbert Mehler
Herbert Mehler’s steel sculptures embody archaic shapes from nature and geometry which may be associated with organic forms of plants and buds. „I am convinced that everyone of us has incorporated a set of basic patterns which affect the human perception.“ The sculptor intertwines organic and tectonic principles - the folded surfaces of his objects remind us of tree bark as well as classical Greek columns. Mehler’s curvelinear objects bend and turn suggesting energetic impetus as a metaphor for organic growth and vitality.
Moto Waganari
Moto Waganari creates transparent network-sculptures which outline a delicate body frame. By illuminating his sculptures the artists multiplies his three dimensional objects by a two dimensional shadow revealing the immaterial alter ego of every figure. His characters seem to visualize a surreal, parallel world filled with surprise and enigma. Moto Waganari’s sculptures seduce the spectator with their appealing beauty and sophisticated weightlessness.
Martin Willing
Martin Willings sculptures are always based on simple geometric shapes and can stylistically be assigned to Concrete Art and Minimalism. However, his artworks unfold their special artistic and aesthetic appeal only after releasing the forces lying in the material properties, which manifest themselves in shapely movements of the sculptures. Martin Willing holds academic degrees in fine arts and physics and lives and works in Cologne.
Stefan Szczesny
Stefan Szczesny, who became known in the 1980s as a protagonist of the Neue Wilde (New Wild) movement in painting, is now among Germany's most significant contemporary artists. Although he is primarily a painter, he also develops domains such as graphic design, sculpture, photography, stage design fashion and design. One very important area is his ceramic oeuvre, which comprises some 4000 works. Born in Munich, he lives and works in Saint Tropez, but also has a studio in Berlin.
The natural and cultural landscape that surrounds his chosen place of residence is a never-ending source of inspiration for Stefan Szczesny. Living in the midst of idyllic nature, with a view of the deep-blue sea and sun-flooded vineyards, Szczesny has developed the credo of a radical optimist: "The world is beautiful. Enjoy it with all your senses while you have the time to do so!"
The sensuality and joy, which are the direct result of Stefan Szczesny's close bond with nature, are major elements in all his works and are expressed in countless images of bliss on earth, full of purity and beauty of creation. His steel shadow sculptures are easily accessible: moving female nudes carrying fruits, which remind the spectator of Eve, the epitome of sensuality and symbol of paradise lost.