The Ohio Artist Registry (OAR) is an exciting opportunity for artists to share their work, connect with the creative community, and establish an online presence—all on a free, virtual platform! The OAR encourages artists working in all art forms, throughout Ohio and beyond, to create a profile, which allows them to better promote themselves and their work. Being listed in the OAR provides artists with new opportunities to share their work with clients, galleries, patrons, and audiences. A listing in the OAR does not confer an endorsement, approval, or verification by the Ohio Arts Council.
For more information, contact Kathy Signorino, artist programs director, at kathy.signorino@oac.ohio.gov or 614-728-6140.
2025 Ohio Artist Registry Juried Exhibition
Christopher Mohler
Artist Mohler ArtworksColumbus Ohio 43201 United States Cell Phone: 614-313-3220 Website: Mohler Artworks
Bio
Chris Mohler is a professional artist who creates contemporary, abstract steel sculpture and chalk drawings on archival paper. He was raised in an eighteenth-century Ohio farmhouse, surrounded by bountiful orchards, fields, and trees. Chris currently lives and works in Worthington.
Chris entered Kent State University as a sculpture major and received a full scholarship. He also attended Maryland Institute of Art in Baltimore. After a brief residency at Sculpture Space, Inc., in Utica, NY, Chris came to Columbus, OH. In 1983 he set up his first studio and became a full-time sculptor.
For the past 40+ years, Chris has practiced his calling: steel sculpture. Chris’s work has been featured in numerous exhibitions and shows. Exhibitions in 2024 included Gallery 22 in Delaware, OH (December 2023 —January 2024), and the Art Galleries at Sinclair Community College in Dayton (November—December 2024). One of Chris’s large sculptures will be featured in Troy Main Street’s 2025 Sculptures on the Square, an outdoor group exhibition in Troy, OH, from June through October.
Other exhibitions have included the Delaware Arts Castle group show (purchase award received), Midwest Sculpture Initiative (two outdoor group shows, one in Dearborn, MI, and one in Tecumseh, MI), Upper Arlington Arts Council outdoor group show, McConnell Arts Center outdoor solo show (Worthington), Ray’s Living Room solo show (Columbus), Collins Gallery (Chicago), and others listed on his resume.
In 1992, a significant piece, The Ark, was featured at AmeriFlora, an international horticultural exhibition in Columbus. In 2010, he entered The Sighting Mechanism in Salmagundi 14, an international outdoor sculpture exhibition in Rocky Mount, NC. That piece was subsequently purchased by an arts patron who donated it to Kent State University in 2015, where it currently is on display.
Throughout his career, Chris has hosted studio receptions two to three times a year that are open to the public. He has created hundreds of sculptures and drawings and it is in the art collections of scores of patrons
Chris has received six grant awards from the Greater Columbus Arts Council and two from the Ohio Arts Council.
Artist Statement
For four decades, steel has been my canvas, my language, the medium through which I weave narratives of abstraction. I was classically trained in sculpture with clay, but it was the resounding “clang” of steel hitting the floor, severed by the fiery dance of an acetylene torch, that truly ignited my passion.
Steel, the backbone of modern civilization, became my artistic foundation. Its inherent strength and resilience resonate with my own dedication to art.
My inspiration comes from many sources. The world around me, scientific achievements, personal experiences, all infuse my abstract creations. Each new sculpture is a journey, a conversation with my materials in a constant pursuit of new ways to bring ideas to life.
The process itself is immensely satisfying. I visualize the sculpture in my mind from all angles, in various stages of completion, and contemplate the challenges ahead. I see the finished product even before starting it. Seeing the piece come to life is personally gratifying.
Chalk drawings on paper serve as a counterpoint to the raw steel. They capture the essence of movement and spontaneity, mirroring the constant evolution of my artistic vision.
Whether crafting dynamic sculpture or creating chalk drawings, I embrace the immediacy of each medium. In the controlled chaos of the welding studio or the quiet intimacy of a paper surface, I lose myself in the process, letting form emerge organically.
Art is not just my profession; it is my lifeblood. It has been my constant companion, offering solace, expression, and a never-ending pursuit of meaning.
Portfolio
Click on image or link to see full portfolio
