Biography
Martin Disler was a Swiss painter, sculptor and writer.
Martin Disler attended a boarding school in Stans, but did not take the Matura examination. In 1969 he had his first studio in Solothurn together with the painter Agnes Barmettler. He exhibited for the first time in 1970 in a solo exhibition. Afterwards he moved to Olten in 1970. In 1970 he married Agnes Barmettler and divorced her in 1977. In 1971 he moved to Dulliken near Olten. From 1972 Martin Disler travelled to Italy and France and since 1977 to the USA with his painter friend Rolf Winnewisser. In 1978 he moved to Zurich. He moved his studio to the Zurich Rote Fabrik, an “alternative” art centre. In 1980 he exhibited in a solo show at the Kunsthalle Basel entitled “Invasion through a false language”. The exhibition in Basel was the international breakthrough for Martin Disler. He described his experiences before and during this exhibition in his book “Bilder vom Maler” (Images of the Painter), excerpts of which were reprinted in numerous newspapers and magazines.
This was followed by exhibitions in Switzerland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Brazil and the USA. Martin Disler met the artist Irene Grundel in 1980. Together with Dieter Hall, he founded the publishing house “Nachbar der Welt”, which published books by artists and artist friends like Helmut Federle and Martin Frank. In 1981 he exhibited at the Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart with the title “Die Umgebung der Liebe”. A 140 × 4.5 meter panoramic picture “The Surroundings of Love” deserves special mention. In 1982 he moved to Harlingen and in 1983 to Paris. In 1984 he married his life partner Irene Grundel. In 1985 they moved to Samedan and in 1988 to Les Planchettes in the Swiss Jura. Martin Disler died in Geneva in 1996 as a result of a cerebral stroke.
In 2014 the novel “The Temptation of the Painter” was published posthumously.
