These panels are an ongoing exploration of mine started in 2000 of the optical properties of abraded metal. I have been doing metalwork for forty years and along the way recognized that some tools leave a surface that seems to recede from the viewer, some simply flatten or create no dimensionality, and some seem to lift off the surface into the foreground. By combining these on a surface I can create holographic effects of depth and space with a two-dimensional object. These panels of stainless steel are ultimately the purest expression of this vision—light pushed to create dynamic space. They are fundamentally objects to create a feeling in the viewer.

The art on the wall is not the piece of metal. The art is the way your eyes read the space created by the light reflecting off the surface. These panels have effects that are dramatic and immediately apparent and another level of perception that is only apparent with prolonged study. Letting one’s eyes relax and simply gazing will yield bits of reflected light that curve away and behind other objects, swirls and shimmering lines that lift into the space in front of the surface. Aside from the dimensionality, these pieces can function like a diffraction grating—if one looks closely all hues of the spectrum can be seen on the surface. These are light sculpture, objects that change exactly the way sculpture changes as one walks around it. They are not meant to represent things. They are themselves and invite you to get to know and understand them.

I create these pieces with myriad different tools in my studio. I wear a respirator, safety glasses, and headphones with music blaring. They are inextricably tied to the music and the isolation created by the protective gear. Below are images of panels ranging in size from 2 feet square to 10’ by 10’. Commissions are accepted.

Items in “quotations” and in bold are available for sale right now.

Contact for pricing: HAVOC@havocgallery.com