metalwork – Tales of Creative Compassion

Jim M. Berberich

Art nouveau is not a new phenomenon, but it’s really been since I got on board with Pinterest that I really started to love the form. I’m really entranced by the relationship of structure and spontaneity in the form, the long elegant lines that stretch out in seemingly unpredictable patterns, but always form just what the artist had in mind. And so I bring you, Jim M. Berberich, stained glass painter.

Stained glass is not (in my very limited research) a typical medium for art nouveau, at least not as typical as oil paint, ink, or metalwork. Berberich puts all that is elegant and provocative about art nouveau into a painted window. This piece, inspired by Alphonse Mucha, caught my eye in particular because it is clearly art nouveau, but the color palate is very different from the warmer, duskier colors you usually see in this type of work. I love the black hair, the greens, blues, and reds in this piece. It adds a sensuality and depth of color to an already pretty sexy art form.

Rebeca Mojica

There is a special respect you have to have for artists who take one medium and stretch it out of its nature. There are many pieces of artwork that I might not enjoy, but must respect just because what the artist has done with the medium is amazing. I prefer, however, to fall in love with a piece of artwork and then find out it’s made from a shocking medium. So I give you, Rebeca Mojica and her phenomenal work with chainmaille

This amazing piece is titled “Poseiden’s Embrace” and is entirely composed of tiny, interlocked metal loops. The exacting, mathematical nature of the medium makes the soft, organic folds of this piece just that much more beautiful and impressive.

Valerie Boy

Metal light installations. Now, I will be the first to admit that the first time I heard the term “light installation” was on Sex and the City. Furthermore, ever since then I have periodically thought, “how can an artist possibly make a living on light installations? Who buys those? How would it even go in your house?” I’m happy to say that Valerie Boy answered all these questions to great satisfaction with her very first image, which for me, was this beauty.

This piece showed up on Apartment Therapy, where the writer described how this one piece took a rather dull apartment and made it notably beautiful. Almost all of Valerie Boy’s work that I’ve seen is both lovely with it’s intrinsic design and manipulation of white light, and practical on some level. She make lamps and pillows and other stuff you can use. I love when art can cross over into a certain pragmatism. Not that I practice that much myself; my books don’t work that well for doorstops or coasters. Trivets, maybe.

Jiri Kylian and David Kracov

Ah, I missed posting on Friday! But hooray for you, because a lazy Friday means bonus Monday, with two amazing pieces of artwork instead of one!

The first is a ballet piece choreographed by Jiri Kylian (his name is supposed to have three different accent marks because he’s Czech, but you can find him online with this spelling. Plus I gave you the link). I can appreciate almost any form of dance, but this particular style I find especially moving. Watching the dancers flow with such liquid movements and express so much with their whole bodies, I am in awe in a way that makes me feel light and full of possibilities. The perfect piece of artwork to inspire more artwork.

Second is a metal sculpture by David Kracov. I love this image so much, and I know it will be one that I return to again and again. It describes how I feel about the vibrancy of literature in such a visceral way. One aspect I love about sculpture is how it gets me outside of my word-driven brain and into a space that is physical and profound.