THE INTERVIEW IN|DEEDS: WHO IS … Gerold Miller

PROLOGUE | PERSONAL

Where are you from, where were you born and when? I was born in 1961 in Upper Swabian Altshausen. Where do you currently live and work? We commute between Berlin and Pistoia/Italy. What stations and people have influenced you? Long working stays in Chicago, New York, Sydney and Paris. Which writers do you currently find exciting and which books can be found on your bookshelf? I have a room-filling shelf with literature from A to Z. What are you currently reading and where do you keep the book handy? Books on horticulture and Italian Renaissance gardens. They always lie where I read them last. What music do you listen to and when? I listen to music all day. Preferably strong female voices like Ceu, Cesaria Evora, Cecile Mcloin Salvant or Canan Uzerle. If you were to cook something for us, what would it be? Panzanella. What is your favorite food? Panzanella. How do you feel about breakfast? A double espresso. What personality trait distinguishes you? A clear attitude.

DEEDS WORLD - Intreview - courtesy of the artist - Portrait Gerold Miller

Gerold Miller, Portrait, 2022, Courtesy the artist & Wentrup, Berlin

INTERVIEW | ARTIST + POSITION

To begin with, please tell us in a few sentences about your artistic vita.

From 1984 to 1989 I studied sculpture at Staatliche Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Stuttgart with Prof. Jürgen Brodwolf.

In 1997, I finally moved to Berlin where I had a solo exhibition at Nationalgalerie am Hamburger Bahnhof in 2002.

Explain briefly your current project or upcoming exhibition

My first solo exhibition at WENTRUP.

What are you most concerned about at the moment; what keeps you busy?

My work.

How did you come to art? Why art?

You don’t plan on becoming an artist, certainly not a minimalist, you just become one. There was no alternative. Even during my school years I always tried to formulate my world by harmonizing forms and contents.

What makes you happy at the moment?

My family, my friends, my work, my garden in Italy.

What makes you afraid at the moment?

Indifference

DEEDS WORLD - Interview - courtesy of the artist and Wentrup - Gerold Miller - instant vision 159

Gerold Miller, instant vision 159, 2021, 280 x 280 x 15 cm, lacquered aluminum,
Courtesy the artist & Wentrup, Berlin

Do you believe that art has a social responsibility? And what do you think can it achieve?

Each artist has a responsibility that should not be underestimated, both artistically and socially. I am here and do my work being aware of this, that is my contribution.

What makes up your art? What is your work about – what are the central themes?

To unite things in a very concentrated way, to very clearly set focus on the essentials. I only want to make work that is necessary, in an art historical sense or in the sense of “this is what I have to capture” and “this is what I want to do.” So I also try to focus on what is important to me.

What I strive for are artworks that are direct and unambiguous. I’ve always worked that way: When I say yes, I mean it. I’m not an in-between type of guy.

Read Gerold Miller´s answer about his work further in THE DEED | DAS WERK.

How do you protect yourself from too much inspiration these days?

There can never be too much inspiration.

How much in your work is planned beforehand – how much arises intuitively?

I plan everything.

DEEDS WORLD - Intreview - courtesy of the artist - Gerold Miller Studio

Gerold Miller Studio, 2022, Courtesy the artist & Wentrup, Berlin

What are your (next) goals?

They are in Italy: the remodeling of my studio. To expand collaboration with craftsmen who specialize in bronze casting and stone sculptures.

What is your position on the subject of faith? Do you have principles of faith or is there a motto?

Everything is feasible.

What project would you still like to realize if lack of time, courage or financial resources were not a factor?

I usually realize the things I set my mind to.

In your opinion, what are the attributes of good art?

Authenticity, originality and modernity

Is one born as an artist? Or is studying art obligatory from your point of view?

One is born as an artist, studying is the way to become one.

Who do you show a new work to first?

My wife, the curator Friederike Nymphius.

What does the first hour of your day look like?

Standing in front of the long window front with a double espresso in my hand, letting my eyes wander into the greenery.

DEEDS WORLD - Intreview - courtesy of WENTRUP - Gerold Miller - Verstärker 34

Gerold Miller, Verstärker 34 (1/3), 2019, 240 x 68.60 x 77 cm, polished stainless steel,
Courtesy the artist & Wentrup, Berlin

In the age of the Internet of Things, are galleries still necessary (in your view)? If so, why and for what?

Nothing works without a gallery as a reliable partner. The galleries offer me the platform and I offer them the performance, it’s a mutual relationship.

Social media – blessing or curse from your point of view?

I work with Instagram. But it doesn’t influence my artistic work in any way. Despite all the appropriate criticism, social media can hardly be avoided today. There is no other forum in which images similarly spread all over the world in present time. For me, however, I can’t yet say where this will lead.

EPILOGUE | CURRENT

The exhibition of new works by Gerold Miller is on view at Galerie WENTRUP, Knesebeckstraße 95, 10623 Berlin-Charlottenburg from 29. April to 4. June 2022.


The written interview is an important medium to introduce artists, to spread their messages and to get in touch with art lovers. The interviews are not edited or shortened by our editors and are always reproduced in original sound. Therefore, we do not translate the interview into English or German unless the interviewee submits a translation.

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