• Current Scholars
• Alumni
• Dream Big
• Scholar Travels
• Scholar Art & Music
• Scholar Stories
• The Scholar Experience

Don FF Edler

Biography

Profile: June of 2011 was a busy and exciting time for German-born Don Edler.  Not only was the Brooklyn resident showing his art at three different exhibits in the Metropolitan New York area, he was also named to the inaugural class of Graduate Arts Award recipients by the Foundation.  Don graduated from the University of Florida in 2010 with a BFA in sculpture, and has been busy ever since.  He has exhibited his art at numerous shows in seven states across the US.  In fact, on Don’s website is a list of all his exhibits and awards and it fills more than a page.  Busy indeed, and he’ll remain even more so as graduate work begins in the spring of 2012 at Hunter College. A sculptor by trade, his work balances between theories about the universe to the “relationship of sculpture to painting, and from materiality and process to total conceptualism,” as one professor observed of the talented young artist.  But Don’s focus is changing.  “I have recently begun to narrow my focus from the overall universe down to the personal, domestic universe. We all live in our own, personal worlds and I have become increasingly interested in understanding the factors that drive the development of theses contrived universes. My work has begun to focus on the home as a reflection of the self.”

Inspiration:  First and foremost, Don is inspired by his mother and father. “I am very fortunate to have very loving and supportive parents who never let me quit or take the easy way out.” In addition to his parents, Don said Celeste Roberge of the College of Fine Arts at the University of Florida “pushed me harder than any other person ever has.” Professor Roberge, Don said,  “helped me develop my practice further than I had known to be possible.  Without her guidance and motivation my work would be a fraction of what it is today.”

Aspiration: Don’s a talented, dedicated artist and he always knew that is what he wanted to do with his life.  But his skill and goals came clearer into focus when he was introduced to the work of artists Gordon Matta-Clark and Mathew Barney who “really reshaped my understanding of what art can be and helped me realize how I wanted to spend my life.” Don said that after enrolling in art school “I finally felt that I was in the right place and today I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Making a Difference:   There are probably more artists that call New York home than any city in the world.  For Don “being able to support myself and make art in New York City has been very gratifying.”

Accolades: Don was awarded the CFEVA Career Development Program Fellowship, Center for Emerging Visual Artists, Philadelphia, PA as well as the Vermont Studio Center Studio Residency Fellowship.  He is also currently the Gallery Aferro Artist-in-Residence, Gallery Aferro in New Jersey.

Interesting Fact: Don loves water and water sports. At the University of Florida he was a nationally ranked competitive skim boarder.

Other Scholars Like Don