SERENE Sculpture

Dennis Mannina was born in 1944 in Chicago, Illinois where he qualified as an architect and worked in the office of Mies van der Rohe from 1967-72. He shared Mies’s love of wood (English brown oak in particular) and natural stone, such as granite and marble, and started sculpting in wood whilst making architectural study models in Mies’ workshop in the late 1960’s. In 1973, he moved to London and worked at Sandy Wilson’s practice on the British Library before joining Peter Carter Architects (PCA). After Peter’s retirement, Mannina worked at YRM Architects and was involved in many major projects, including Bristol International Airport. Continuing to work in London, he moved, with his wife and family, to Tiptree, Essex in 1992 and he remains there to this day. Mannina retired in 2012 and decided to take his hobby to the next level. Entirely self-taught, he was fortunate to be accepted by the Sculpt Gallery, Great Braxted, Tiptree to exhibit his work and is still a gallery artist there. His influences include Henry Moore (who he had the pleasure to meet at Mies’s office), Brancusi, Giacometti, and Maurice Blik, who is also a personal friend and mentor.