JOHN MEDWEDEFF, USA

My early training in blacksmithing plays a key role in the design of my monumental sculptures, although industrial processes and heavy equipment are used in their production. Expressed in steel, bronze, and aluminum, their abstract organic forms are representations of the physics and patterns I observe in natural phenomena. Metal heated in the forge and hammered, or cold-formed under tremendous pressure, assumes plasticity that can be manipulated to mimic growth, movement, and stability. Engineering is another integral aspect of my aesthetic. My works rarely rely on an internal support system. Structure and form are unified in an honest expression of the materials. Knowing these sculptures often function as landmarks of identity for entire communities is a responsibility I take very seriously.