Mauro Wieser
Mauro Wieser is a Swiss-born kinetic sculptor based in St. Petersburg, Florida. Rooted in traditional Swiss woodworking and informed by contemporary technologies, his work combines wood, motors, and drawing to explore masculinity, labor, identity, and the evolving relationship between humans and machines. Through kinetic sculpture, Wieser examines the tensions between craftsmanship and innovation, organic origins and technological futures.
Artist Statement
My work explores contemporary masculinity and the tension between strength and vulnerability in a rapidly changing world. Many men are still measured by their ability to provide, protect, produce, and endure, often tying their sense of worth to usefulness and productivity. Yet these expectations frequently demand performance beyond physical, emotional, and psychological limits.
Through kinetic sculpture, I use wood, mechanical systems, and movement as metaphors for the human condition. The figures and mechanisms in my work suggest bodies under strain—driven by unseen forces, caught between resilience and exhaustion, agency and obligation. Humor often serves as an entry point, but beneath the surface lies an examination of insecurity, isolation, and the cultural pressures that encourage men to conceal vulnerability behind displays of toughness and self-reliance.
Rather than offering answers, these sculptures create space for reflection on how masculine identity is constructed, performed, and sustained. They ask what remains when the traditional measures of manhood no longer provide clear direction, and whether vulnerability itself might be understood as a form of strength.
CV
Education
2019 – Master of Fine Arts (MFA), University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
2016 – Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
Residency
2023–2024 – Artist in Action Residency, Art & History Museums Maitland, Maitland, FL
One-year interdisciplinary residency focused on creative development and public engagement.
Selected Exhibitions
2025
Against the Grain: A Juried Woodworking Exhibition, Florida CraftArt, St. Petersburg, FL
2024
Man and Machine, Art & History Museums Maitland, Maitland, FL
2019
Meltdown, Limner Gallery, Hudson, NY (Juried Exhibition)
ArtFields, Lake City, SC (Juried Exhibition)
Domestic Imports, University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
2018
Taking on Materials, Avalon Gallery, Orlando, FL
Aesthetic Proximity, Avalon Gallery, Orlando, FL
2 Year Retrospective, Guava Tree Gallery, Orlando, FL
Individual Theorem, UCF Celebrate the Arts, Gallery at Avalon, Orlando, FL
2017
Proximity with Nature, Guava Tree Gallery, Orlando, FL
Perception and Reality II, Snap! Gallery, Orlando, FL
Without Borders, Gallery at Avalon, Orlando, FL
2016
Ignite, UCF Arena, Orlando, FL
Otronicon, Orlando Science Center, Orlando, FL
2015
Purpose Zero, Gallery 247 FAVO, Orlando, FL
STEAM, UCF Art Gallery, Orlando, FL
2014
One Last Hoop, UCF Art Gallery, Orlando, FL