Gerold Miller (born 1961 in Altshausen, Germany) is an influential German sculptor and installation artist whose minimalist and geometric works critically engage with concepts of space, form, and perception. Operating at the intersection of sculpture, painting, and architecture, his practice challenges traditional categorizations and invites viewers to reconsider the nature of visual experience.
Miller studied sculpture under Jürgen Brodwolf at the State Academy of Fine Arts in Stuttgart between 1984 and 1989. Early in his career, he was awarded several prestigious scholarships and residencies, including a grant from the Kunststiftung Baden-Württemberg (1990), a DAAD scholarship for Chicago (1990/91), and a residency at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris (1994). These international experiences significantly influenced his artistic development, fostering his exploration of industrial materials and precision in execution.
His early series "Anlagen" (Installations) draws upon the principles of concrete art and minimalism, featuring industrially manufactured, frame-like wall pieces that redefine the spatial dynamics of the exhibition environment. In the "ready-mixes" series, Miller incorporates ideas from conceptual art and readymades, further blurring the boundaries between art and design.
The 2002 solo exhibition "get ready" at the Nationalgalerie im Hamburger Bahnhof, Berlin, provided a comprehensive overview of his large-format "hard:edged" works. These pieces merge the flatness characteristic of classic hard-edge painting with the vivid color palette of American pop art, creating a dynamic visual tension.
Miller's "total objects" represent hybrid constellations between art and design, emphasizing his ongoing investigation into the frame as both a physical boundary and a conceptual element. In his recent works, he has expanded his artistic approach by copper-plating aluminum substrates and subjecting them to complex processes of oxidation and multiple layers of varnish, resulting in surfaces that challenge perceptions of depth and materiality.
His works are held in numerous public and private collections worldwide, including the Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk; Kunsthalle Weishaupt, Ulm; New Orleans Museum of Art; Kunstmuseum Stuttgart; and the Tel Aviv Museum of Art. Miller has been recognized with awards such as the International Lake Constance Culture Prize (2001) and the Helmut Kraft Foundation Prize (2023).
Gerold Miller continues to live and work in Berlin and Pistoia. His contributions to contemporary art critically expand the discourse surrounding minimalism and geometric abstraction, making significant impacts on how space and form are perceived and experienced.