Herbert Mehler: WABI-SABI

Anna Laudel Düsseldorf presents German sculptor Herbert Mehler’s comprehensive solo exhibition titled WABI-SABI between November 16, 2022–January 14, 2023. 

​​Herbert Mehler aims to produce uniqueness by planning every single detail of the work, starting from the idea to the end, in order to form a “whole” from identical modules. He reflects the beauty of the imperfection in nature while creating his sculptures where there are no straight lines or slat spacing that resembles another. By using this technique he makes every piece as unique as possible. 

WABI-SABI, the exhibition title, originates from 16th century Japanese aesthetic culture, reflecting the authentic character of an object and not the perfection of its beauty. Finding beauty in every aspect of imperfection in nature, Mehler manages to shape materials such as steel, bronze and aluminum through fine, linear folds and symmetrical curves into floral forms of nature. 

The title of “KAVEX”, which is used to describe Mehler’s series of works and displayed on two floors together with his new artworks, derives its name from the concave and convex contours of his sculptures. When Mehler started folding the brown paper bags of his homemade lunch, he discovered the sculptural potential of these folds, which inspired him to create groundbreaking sketches for metal sculptures in an intelligently developed formal language.

Mehler’s creative imagination and in-depth knowledge of the statics and material behaviour of large-scale outdoor sculptures with a playful light appearance allow colours to affect the alternate between yellow, orange and brown. The effect of the sculptures manages to move between the opposites of lightness and solidity, blurring the boundaries of these polarities.

The exhibition WABI-SABI featuring Herbert Mehler’s extensive selection of works including 24-carat pure gold covered weatherproof sculptures, drawings, paintings and iron casting pieces can be seen at Anna Laudel Düsseldorf until January 14, 2023.

Herbert Mehler
Herbert Mehler was born in Germany in 1949, and started working alongside his father, a wood sculptor, before studying at the Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts, where in 1976 he received a prize in recognition of new talent. From 2003 to 2009, he created his first “Kavex” series, whose title is a combination of the German words for “concave” and “convex”. Using sheets of Corten steel which he cuts and folds into shapes observed in nature, he applies mathematics and technology to produce biomorphic sculptures—allegories of the organised beauty of the natural world. Despite their obvious connection with new technologies, Mehler’s sculptures are nevertheless in perfect harmony with the ancient lines to be found, for example, in Gothic cloisters, thus forging a dialogue between two eras that transcends the limits of space and time. In 2010, Mehler began a new series of sculptures, whose symmetrical curves freely create open shapes. This series is called “Apsida”, after the Greek word for apse or arch. Together with his wife, the German artist Sonja Edle von Hoeßle, he founded in 2016 the ”erbachshof-art-project“to concentrate on his art.