 | This article includes a list of references, related reading, or external links, but its sources remain unclear because it lacks inline citations .(March 2013) |
Kurt Laurenz Metzler (born 26 January 1941), Signature "KLM", is a Swiss sculptor. His artworks adorned many Swiss cities, mostly in public places.
Metzler was born 1941 in Balgach, St. Gallen. In School, Metzler already was working creatively, using pieces of wood and cardboard. He wanted to become an artist. Because he lost his father, he temporarily grew up at his uncle’s, Florian Metzler, who was a painter.
Metzler’s Mother warned him that sculpture was an unstable business, so he decided to become an architectural draftsman, decorator and photographer.
In 1958, he enrolled himself to the „Schule für Gestaltung“, an artistic school of Zurich He got his sculptor’s diploma in 1963. In 1964 he travelled to the United States and lived in New York City for a year.
Back in Switzerland, he began an apprenticeship at a car body tinsmith’s to learn the art of blacksmithing. Then he worked for other sculptors, e.g. Ödön Koch, Arnold D’Altri, Paul Speck or Silvio Mattioli.
In 1970, he bought a house in Tremona (Canton of Ticino, Switzerland). There, he created his first big sculptures. During this period, Metzler received his first orders and held multiple exhibitions.
Another voyage through the USA followed. In 1976, he took part at the “International Sculptors Congress“ in New Orleans.
In 1989 he opened up an atelier in Tillson, New York City, where he created works for exhibitions in New York and Long Island. He also went to Italy, where he started to live and work in Iesa near Siena, with Claudia, his wife, and his two sons. Today, he lives in the Toscana and in Zurich.
The garden around his property is now populated with about 50 characters and draws comparisons with the garden of Daniel Spoerri and the Tarot Garden by Niki de Saint Phalle, an Artists' Garden in Tuscany, which became known as Arte Ambientale.
From this period, numerous monumental works of his can be seen in public spaces. The sculptures are located in Australia, Germany and the United States.
1996 Metzler has exhibited in the Baths of Caracalla, in 1997 in Sienna and in 2003 in Milan. In 2006, a selection of his works at the Park Hotel on the Bürgenstock was seen at Lake Lucerne too. In the same year he participated in the 3rd Swiss Sculpture Triennale in Bad Ragaz and Vaduz, for which he was the technical director, and where he also took part in the first two shows.
In 2007, several sculptural works in the context of the Ansbacher Metzler Sculpture Mile in the public space in Ansbach were visible.
From July to October he took part in the:"Bella Estate Dell'Arte of Milan", showing a traveling exhibition "Nevrotici Metropolitani" at the Milan Central Station square. The exhibition was curated by art critic Vittorio Sgarbi and praised by Milan mayor Letizia Moratti.
A book with many essays by Vittorio Sgarbi, Alberto Bartalini & Franz Jaeger, with photo documentation by Mario Mulas brother of the late art photographer Ugo Mulas, about the "Nevrotici Metropolitani" traveling exhibition was published 2008-2009.
Christmas 2009, Metzler, has collocated his touring exhibition "Nevrotici Metropolitani" into the "Piazza Basilica Inferiore" in Assisi.
In July 2009 in collaboration with Gallery Belvedere Singapore, he designed the sculpture group "Urban People" an exciting and iconic public art installation in the heart of Orchard Road, in front of the ION Orchard and The Orchard Residences in Singapore.
End of summer he participated at the Concert For Viareggio as the only sculptor, with five of his works beneath the stage. The idea came from Zucchero "Sugar" Fornaciari, the headliner of the evening along with many other artists and celebrities from the worlds of sport and entertainment.
In occasion of the Teatro del Silenzio, the worldwide famous Andrea Bocelli concert, which took place on 25 July 2010, he created the stunning 14-metre monumental sculpture of a modernistic star as well as the metallic human figures in bright crayola colors that peopled the stone walls of the open-air theatre, and also graced the rooftops and piazza in Lajatico.
His opinionated sculptures are made of materials that are heavy, but seem to be light when seen in the definitive work (Marble, Bronze, Iron, Aluminium). Sometimes, the materials are bare, but often they are painted unicolored with a rather violent color.
The elder motives are wire dancers, people who are man and motor united (they e.g. contain motor parts or chains). Newer are the motives Zeitungsleser (Newspaper), Stadtneurotiker (City-neurotics),Cities, Golf players or giant people.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
| Other | |
Marino Marini was an Italian sculptor and educator.
Miguel Ortiz Berrocal was a Spanish figurative and abstract sculptor. He is best known for his puzzle sculptures, which can be disassembled into many abstract pieces. These works are also known for the miniature artworks and jewelry incorporated into or concealed within them, and the fact that some of the sculptures can be reassembled or reconfigured into different arrangements. Berrocal's sculptures span a wide range of physical sizes from monumental outdoor public works, to intricate puzzle sculptures small enough to be worn as pendants, bracelets, or other body ornamentation.
Mohsen Vaziri Moghaddam, was an Iranian-born painter, sculptor, and a professor of art. He has been described as the "pioneer of modern Iranian abstraction."
Gianfranco Goberti was an Italian painter.
Urs Fischer is a Swiss-born contemporary visual artist living in New York City. Fischer’s practice includes sculpture, installation and photography.
Mimmo Paladino is an Italian sculptor, painter and printmaker. He is a leading name in the Transvanguardia artistic movement and one of the many European artists to revive Expressionism in the 1980s.
Gaston Orellana, is a Spanish and Chilean painter. Orellana was born in Valparaiso, Chile in 1933, son of Spanish parents Armando de Orellana, an engineer and Spanish diplomat, and Ernestina del Transito née Morgadon. Although born abroad, Orellana was born into the ancient aristocratic house of Orellana la Vieja, from Extremadura, Spain. He has since lived in Spain, Italy, the United States the UK and France.
Alejandro Colunga Marín is a Mexican artist, painter and sculptor.
Luigi Malice is an Italian abstract artist.
Francesco Messina was an Italian sculptor of the 20th century.
Mario Bernasconi was a Swiss-Italian sculptor.
Angelo Frattini was an Italian sculptor from Varese. He studied at Brera Academy and his first contacts with sculptural art were influenced by Scapigliatura's teachings. He also exhibited his works in New York City and Washington DC, where he was received by president Lyndon Johnson. Angelo Frattini died in Varese on September 2, 1975. In 1978 the artistic lyceum of his hometown was named after him.
Marcello Morandini is an Italian architect, sculptor and graphic designer. His visual style involves assembling of repetitive simple forms, often in just black and white, into complex objects.
Park Eun Sun is a South Korean sculptor.
Enzo Carnebianca, is a sculptor and painter born in Rome Italy.
Helmet of Fieramosca is the monumental work in bronze created by the sculptor and painter Arturo Casanova for the city of Capua and installed in Piazza Umberto I.
Giuseppe Biagi is an Italian painter and member of the Metacosa Movement.
Francesca Sacchi Tommasi is an independent Italian art dealer.
Elena Rede, pseudonym of Elena Re Depaolini, is an Italian sculptor of contemporary art.
Generoso Pompa in art Gene, pseudonym of Generoso Pompa, Italian painter of contemporary art.
