What is it? As the name itself shows, this art implies changing the texture of the metallic alloy fibers, mostly by using electrical powered machinery and many different engraving instruments. Such change involving, for one, the direction towards light, depth, speed and movement, as well as, obviously, the type of material used, which can be for cutting, brushing, polishing or other.
The metal engraving art expresses a large creative richness, either in the field of artistic expression, whether in the effect it has on the place where the art piece is exposed, granting that place a very particular magnitude of great quality and exclusivity, such as in large halls of public buildings, companies receptions, CEO offices, high rated hotels, commemorative works, or even at your home, as a distinctive element of elegance and charm, in the entrance hall, living room or bedroom. With proper lighting (see FAQ) remarkable rich effects can be produced reflecting shades of white, gold, blue or red, depending on the surrounding ambient light and people’s movement, that will "dialogue" with that revealing light. The art is ALIVE and reacts to its surroundings, revealing or hiding itself depending on your viewing angle and light casting. Given the resources required, in terms of workspace, financial resources, as well as some physical resistance, this impressive art is not, certainly, the most inviting and accessible one. And to that you can add the dangers related to handling electrical devices of considerable weight. In fact, one can reckon that the metal engraving art (being steel, brass, aluminum or others) probably will remain aside from the so-called mainstream or traditional forms of artistic expression. However, like the saying goes, "a picture is worth a thousand words", therefore the many art works that constantly keep arising from hands of international renowned artists, with distinct backgrounds, trends and influences, clearly show the tremendous potential of this innovative form of art for the days to come! The wide variety of themes reveals that this art depends mainly from the artist inspiration and from his abilities the enhancement or “life” given to each of his artistic creations. Seascapes or landscapes, hyper-realistic vivid scenes or geometric/abstract compositions, under bright painting colors or personalized lighting effects, in the end we can say that any dream that fits in the inventive genius of the artist can be expressed uniquely through metal engraving art. Anyway, I’ll leave that conclusion to yourself in case you’d like to briefly visit my Virtual Gallery or perhaps amplify your own research by other ways… How it all began? As far as it’s known, the idea of making artwork on stainless steel plates, was born in Lyon, France, in the early '80s, by the hands and inventiveness of Mick Micheyl, also called 'Coeur D'Acier' or 'heart of steel ', an international well known painter since the '50s
In 1973 she had her first exposure, and to everyone's surprise, Mick Micheyl canceled all promising tours and TV shows to devote herself entirely to her true pation: the visual arts. "I Draw with light. I try to express the life and movement. The movement of a running man, or the movement of time in a forest as the day goes on "- citing herself. At 87 years of age, Mick Micheyl made her last exhibition in October 2010. But her retirement has nothing to do with the beautiful age she reached... According to the media, while working in her studio, a steel filing was projected into one of her eyes. The filing was removed in a delicate surgical intervention, but unfortunately it also took off some visual capacity, which forced her to withdraw this artistic activity. As she later explained, this unfortunate accident occurred in a rare moment she forgot to use the protective goggles... Metal engraving pioneer and stern figure of this kind of art, Mick Micheyl achieved a high degree of quality and perfection, with creations of great merit and much appreciated by the public! However, already in the 21st century, there’s still scarce artists who "dare" to invest their time, resources and muscles, in this unique and exuberant art form. Some that are slowly discovering great success are, for example, Suzi Trubitz, The Iron Artist, Nicholas Yust, David Wilhelm, Jon Allen, Alex Kovacs, Jeremy Cooper or Lubo Naydenova, whose works, reflecting their own style, are being highly searched and required, and receiving numerous recognized awards for high artistic merit and quality! As you’ll certainly find, these artists often try to show their work through videos and not so much through photographs... Why? Because this is a dynamic art! It lives and moves following the observer and light movements/positions in front of the metal panels, so that a static image can hardly show these virtues! It would be like trying to utter a word with only a single letter. But please allow me to extend you an 'invitation to discovery', by the digital media we have worldwide available today, and see if you can find more artists/artwork related with (even remotely) the Art in Metal, and share the results of your own adventure. I thank you in advance! |
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