Working within the realm of abstract realism, Frank Mädler juxtaposes color, space, and sense of time in his compositions to blur the lines of reality and illusion. His experimentation with traditional technique conjures an ethereal quality to his work that is both alluring and hauntingly beautiful. 

“[…] his pictures arouse emotions without veering into pathos […] He strives to concentrate on something ‘essential’ […] and produces an atmosphere that makes the world outside the camera’s frame appear irrelevant to the spectator.” Katharina Menzel

 
Born in Torgelow, Germany in 1963, Frank Mädler studied at the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig, Germany under the direction of renowned photographer, Astrid Klein. In 2004, he won a scholarship to the German Academy in Rome at the Villa Massimo, an esteemed German prize for a visual artist. In 2000, Mädler graduated with his Masters in Fine Art from the Academy of Visual Arts in Leipzig, Germany where he lives and works today. His work hangs in public and private collections, including the American Bank Collection, the Antoine de Galbert Foundation in Paris, the Kunstforum Ostdeutsche Galerie in Regenburg, Germany, Altana Kulturforum in Sinclair Haus in Bad Homburg, Germany, and the Leonhardi Museum in Dresden, Germany.

Frank Mädler has been written about by several German curators, scholars and critics, including Martina Padberg (2007), Tanja Dückers (2003, 2006), Charlotte Gutmann (2006), Lily Koshitavshvili (2006), Maximillian Keller (2006), and Katharina Menzel (2003).

Solo Exhibitions (Selection)

2023
Frank Mädler, Im Hintergrund Wald, Galerie—Peter—Sillem, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

2021
Frank Mädler, After the Aurora, Corkin Gallery, Toronto, Canada

2020
Frank Mädler, Lob und Landschaft, Galerie—Peter—Sillem, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

2019
Frank Mädler, Fragmente der Vernunft, Galerie Susanne Albrecht, Berlin, Germany
Frank Mädler, Fotografien und Fotogramme, Art Karlsruhe, Germany

2018
Frank Mädler, Glanz, Galerie—Peter—Sillem, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Frank Mädler, Seerosen, Photo Basel, Switzerland
 
2017
Galerîa Lucîa de La Puente, Lima, Peru

2016
Leonhardi Museum, solo exhibition, Dresden, Germany

2014
Kunstforum Ostdeusche Galerie, Heimat? Osteuropa in der zeitgenössischen Fotografie, Regensberg, Germany

2013
Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Lima, Collection of Jan Mulder, Lima, Peru

2011
Museum der Bildenden Künste, Leipzig. Fotografie seit 1839, Leipzig, Germany

2010
Langen Foundation, An die Natur, Neuss, Germany

2009
Museum Frieder Burda, Natur Baden-Baden, Germany

2008
Altana Kulturforum im Sinclair-Haus, An die Natur II, Bad Homburg, Germany

2007
Altana Kulturforum im Sinclair-Haus, An die Natur, Bad Homburg, Germany
Residenzschloss, Wenn der Sonnentau..., Dresden, Germany

2004
Villa Massimo, Salotto buono: dieci idee a Villa Massimo, Rome, Italy

2002
HGB, Academy of Visual Arts, Masters of Fine Arts Exhibition, Leipzig, Germany

1998
Schrödter House Centre, Schrödter, Leipzig, Germany

1997
Council Chamber of Plettenberg City Hall, Germany

1997
Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts, Photography – Graduates of the Leipzig Academy of Visual Arts, Berlin, Germany
HGB, Academy of Visual Arts, Exhibition of Graduates, Leipzig, Germany

1996
Telecom Headquarters, Mädler-Schiemann-Koch, Leipzig, Germany
Point of view, Berlin, Germany

1994
149, 2 kbm, Lindlar, Germany
Goethe-Institut, La Photographie en Saxe, Brussels, Belgium

Solo Gallery Exhibitions (Selection)
 
2012
Corkin Gallery, Basic Motion, Gold, Shine, Wiesen, Toronto, Canada

2008
Corkin Gallery, Südwest, Toronto, Canada

2007
Corkin Gallery, UT Silber und Polaroid, Toronto, Canada

2006
Galerie J.J. Heckenhauer, Wege, Berlin, Germany

2005
Corkin Gallery, Wege, Toronto, Canada
Corkin Gallery, Eintracht, Toronto, Canada

2002
Corkin Gallery, Winterarbeiten, Toronto, Canada

2001
Jane Corkin Gallery, landeinwärts, Toronto, Canada


Group Gallery Exhibitions (Selection)

2010
Galerie Hübner & Hübner, Tiere (Animals), Frankfurt/M., Germany
Corkin Gallery, Painting with a Camera, Toronto, Canada
Dogenhaus Galerie, Leipzig, Germany

2009
Spinnerei, Werkschau, Leipzig, Germany
Neuer Dresdner Kunstverein, Villa Massimo Memorabilia – Sächsische Künstler in Rom, Dresden, Germany

2003
Corkin Gallery, Winter Show, Toronto, Canada

Museum and Public Collections (Selection)
 
DZ BANK Kunstsammlung, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Art Gallery of Ontario, Canada
Kunstforum Ostdeutsche  Galerie Regensburg, Germany         
La Maison Rouge - Fondation Antoine de Galbert
Mulder Foundation, Lima, Peru
ALTANA Kunstsammlung im Sinclair-Haus, Bad Homburg, Germany
Kupferstichkabinett, Dresden, Germany
Sammlung Deutsche Telekom, Germany
Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden, Germany
 
 
Artist Residencies / Awards (Selection)

Al Lado, Lima, 2017
Villa Massimo Memorabilia – Sächsische Künstler in Rom, Neuer Dresdner Kunstverein, Germany, 2009
“kunstraum syltquelle”, Artist in Residence, Sylt, Germany, 2007
Kulturstiftung des Freistaates Sachsen, 2007
Wenn der Sonnentau..., Residenzschloss, Dresden, Germany
German Bursary, Massimo Grant, residency at the German Academy Rome Villa Massimo, Italy, 2004
SMWK artist scholarship for travel to Spain, 2003
Annual scholarship for artists from the DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service) for post-graduate studies at the Facultad de Bellas Artes, Universidad Castilla La Mancha, Cuenca, Spain, 1999–2000
Scholarship from the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes (Scholarship Foundation of the German People)

Bibliography (Selection) 

Frank Mädler, Tafelwerk (monograph), D/E, Salzburg (Fotohof Edition) 2016
Frank Mädler, Kopal (monograph), D/E, Salzburg (Fotohof Edition) 2013
Frank Mädler, Eintracht, Rom (Villa Massimo) 2005
Frank Mädler, landeinwärts, Toronto (Jane Corkin Gallery) 2002
Frank Mädler, Winterarbeiten, Dresden (Kulturamt der Landeshauptstadt Dresden, Leonhardi-Museum) 2002
Frank Mädler, Fotografie, Leipzig (Deutsche Telekom) 1996