Manfred Zoller is an artist, painter, collage artist and sculptor – and was originally a doctor. He worked for several years in that capacity, namely as a specialist in anatomy. Later, he was a master student under Gerhard Kettner at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts (HfBK), went on to head the Department of Anatomy there, and subsequently taught morphology and anatomy at the Berlin-Weißensee Academy of Art; he also held various visiting professorships and wrote a seminal book on the subject of anatomy. Knowing all this, a look at his artistic work defies all expectations. At first glance, there is nothing representational; almost nothing is a depiction of anything living. For Zoller regards ‘artistic anatomy’ not only as a subject that can be taught academically, but also as an open system, a starting point and a creative task. In his paintings, collages and assemblages, colour, composition and form emerge from the interplay between scientific rigour and free play. The moment the viewer attempts to interpret something, the interplay begins anew. From Zoller’s arrangements of colour and form emerge vast realms of association, transformed reality and pictorial poetry.
