Joseph Mendla is a Wisconsin artist currently working in an open-ended series of steel sculptures based on the Asian practice of painting perfect circles on rice paper with brushes loaded with black ink.  His compositions of circles constructed of arcs made of steel rods are designed to attract the gaze and to still the mind of the viewer.  At the same time they have a physical presence and just enough complexitiy to be visually interesting.  These centering scuptures are part of a series he calls "Zen Brushworks".

Joseph's rich history includes a degree from the Philadelphia University of the Arts, a Masters degree in Sculpture from the University of Pennsylvania, teaching college level sculpture and design courses, founding the Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design (MIAD), as well as designing, building and operating a fine art bronze factory.  All the while, he has stayed close to dreams of drawing in space with lines of steel, hoping to catch the silence.