Manfred Heller

Manfred Heller shows figurative works, made of Iron at the anvil and forge. The pieces are life-sized and made of 6 to 10 mm sheeting. A full sculpture is between 180 and 200 cm tall.

All sculptures are made by hand, without the help of a power hammer. So, shaping plates with the weight of 20 to 30 kg on the anvil, demands physical effort, frequently ending in great exhaustion.

Born in 1956 in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, he started his career as a dental technician. Ending his training, he moved to West Berlin in 1981 to live there till 1988. After that he went backpacking in South America, realizing a childhood dream by exploring the Amazon rainforest.

Back in Germany he found a job as a tourist guide, that took him back to South America, all the way down to Tierra del Fuego. Later he went to the USA, including Alaska, as well as Canada, Asia, Tibet and Mongolia.

Realizing some metal works in the studio of some friends in 1995, marked the beginning of an autodidactically development that resulted in the current process.