Lanny Bergner, Primordial Vessel, 2013, stainless steel mesh, coated copper wire, 27.5" x 11" x 11"

Lanny Bergner is a mixed-media sculptor based on Fidalgo Island near Anacortes, whose practice has centered since the early 1980s on industrial metal mesh as a sculptural medium. Working with stainless steel and copper mesh, he cuts, flame-paints, and hand-forms the material using torches, pliers, and stitched wire seams, transforming it into semi-transparent, biomorphic, and geometric structures that range from small basket-like forms to large-scale installations.

Bergner's process emphasizes both precision and material transformation. The mesh is shaped into bas-relief surfaces and three-dimensional constructions that suggest living systems and natural forces. His imagery draws from plant biology, marine life, cellular structures, geology, and cosmological forms, creating works that hover between the organic and the industrial.

A graduate of the University of Washington (BFA) and Tyler School of Art and Architecture (MFA), Bergner's work is held in major collections including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum of Northwest Art, and the Seattle Art Museum. Internationally exhibited and widely taught, his practice explores the intersection of natural systems, craft, and industrial material, revealing intricate structures where nature and fabrication converge.