He discovered sculpture through his father, the master wood sculptor Franz Mehler, with whom he trained from 1964 to 1968. He then continued his studies at the Nuremberg Academy of Fine Arts between 1972 and 1976. Based in Eisingen, Germany, and Kranidi, Greece, he develops a monumental body of work characterized by Corten steel, which allows him to reconcile technical rigor with organic inspiration.
His talent was recognized from the outset: in 1996, he received the Nürnberger Nachrichten Recognition Award, followed in 2007 by their Art Prize and the City of Würzburg Culture Prize. In 2008, he won first prize at the Sculptures in the Park competition in Mörfelden-Walldorf. In 2016, he co-founded the Erbachshof art project with Sonja Edle von Hoeßle. His monumental sculptures are regularly exhibited in parks, museums, and public spaces in Germany and internationally.
Inspired by nature and its recurring forms, Herbert Mehler explores the relationships between concave and convex in his emblematic series Kavex (2003-2009) and Apsida (since 2010). Constructed from folded and cut Corten steel sheets, his biomorphic sculptures combine mathematics, technology, and observation of the living world. He believes that human existence is determined by a fundamental system of perception, independent of any cultural conditioning, which generates our archetypal representations and forms.