Biography

Born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Handcraft apprenticeship

Extensive residencies for work and study in South America, Spain, Italy, China and the United States

Creative implementation in business for garden design, privately owned by Alexander Heil

Studies in landscape architecture, Berlin

Concept, layout and publication of a book about a new kind of garden design

Freelance sculptural work with wood and stone since mid to late 90s

2002, first exhibit; since then, exhibits in Germany and abroad

2003, opening of the Studio at Zauberberg, Germany

2005, studio in Berlin

2011, Wilfried Koch Sculpture Award

2012, opening of the Artist Farm in Wesenhof close to Berlin

2016, opening of the studio in Loco/Valle Onsernone, Switzerland

Intensive collaboration with German and international artists.
The artist lives and works in Berlin and the Italian Swiss

Working Method

The artist Alexander Heil can often be found sitting in a café in Berlin with a sketchbook in his hands. There he sits and observes, takes it all in and captures these moments in sketches. Then, while walking through his wild chestnut forest in the mountains of Tessin, he looks for the appropriate tree trunks for the corresponding idea.

The artist gets his inspiration from a place somewhere between city and wild nature and creates powerful works of art. Using axes, chisels and power saws he creates his sculptures composed of flowing structures in an almost illustrative manner. The special, time-consuming patination gives the wood the appearance of very old objects of use. The black colouring of the wood is created as a result of the reaction with a metal following a secret formula.

The wood structures are partially moulded and cast in bronze. Once again the patination transforms the materiality and as a result the bronze sculpture often look like wood and the wooden sculptures look like metal.