We’ve stumbled upon the art of Andrew Chase not long ago, and frankly it amazed us, because his work is surrealistic, and we just had to know who this man was, and how he creates this incredible statues. So if you haven’t heard about Andrew Chase, is not because you have been living under a rock, or you don’t surf the web enough, or you’re not preoccupied with art, bur probably because this artist is not advertised enough. Nonetheless, this is a very interesting artist, and we had the opportunity to interview him regarding his work as a sculptor in metal. If you want to learn more about his work, because this is not his only area of expertise you can visit the official page at: http://www.andrewchase.com/
But in case you are really busy, we’ve included a few images depicting Andrew Chase’s latest creations.
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The Interview:
Q: When did you become an artist, and what was your main interest at first? (I know you also do furniture, and photography)
A: Photography came first, I’ve been a commercial photographer for about 20 years now. I started welding about 16 years ago, and have been making metal sculpture for roughly 7 years
Q: How did you begin making sculptures out of recycled objects?
A: When I first started making sculptures I found it was easier to use preexisting forms and modifying them versus starting with a blank slate. Recycled objects were plentiful and free so to me, they were an obvious choice.
Q: Where do you get your inspiration from?
A: All over the place; 19th and early 20th century machinery, modern construction equipment (road construction stuff is the most interesting for some reason). Also, I love browsing conceptart.org, there are some phenomenally talented people who post there.
Q: What style of art would you classify your work?
A: I’m not sure. For the most part I’m not trying to work in any particular genre, I’m just making stuff I like.
Q: Why do you choose to make your sculptures and furniture pieces from metallic waste and not any other material? (please correct me if I’m wrong about the metallic waste)
A: I’m not sure if I would classify it as metallic waste but I use recycled car parts because they’re interestingly shaped, not easily identifiable, plentiful, and free.
Q: What is the creation process from idea to the final object?
A: I usually start by matching an animal to a particular function ( elephant as forklift, giraffe as crane etc..). Using reference photos of the live animal plus shots of the skeleton if I can find them,I’ll do a rough full scale drawing highlighting joint placement and basic body outline. I start with the head and once I get that right I build the basic skeleton out of conduit bearings and gears and fill in the body and limbs with 1/4 rod and sheet metal. Once the overall shape looks good it just a matter of refining the edges and a lot of grinding and polishing.
Q: Who is your typical client that purchases your sculptures?
A: Other than to say people with impeccable taste 🙂 don’t think I have a typical client. They include a museum in Florida, a lawyer in LA and a doctor in Belgium. Strangely, I’m very popular in Belgium and I have no idea why.
Q: Where do you get your metal from?
A: Mostly from transmission shops and occasionally industrial salvage warehouses.
Q: What is your favorite experience as an artist?
A: The last four hours of a new piece. The sculptures take weeks to make and most of the time if feels like I’m not making any discernible progress at all. However in the last day all the preparation pays off and everything comes together in a rush. Sometimes it feels like they’re building themselves.
Q: Do you have a favorite artist? Maybe somebody that inspired, or influenced you?
A: Dr, Seuss with H.R. Geiger coming in a close second
Q: What is your average day like?
A: I usually start off in the photo studio in the morning and around noon or 1:00, if I don’t have any clients with me, I’ll head over to the garage to make some noise and play with fire.
Q: What motivates you?
A: I like to make stuff that I wish existed but doesn’t.
Q: What are you currently working on, and what plans do you have for the future?
A: I’m currently finishing up a horse, it’s the most sophisticated thing I’ve done so far. Next up is a polar bear.
Q: What would you advise the beginning artists?
A: Do what you love, it will show through in your work. Also, and I speak from experience on this, if no one else likes it, at least you will.
This latest piece of work simply captivated us, so we had to include it here. It’s about the Mechanic Cheetah. But don’t take my word for it, just check it out:
Tell us what you think about Andrew’s work in the comments section below, and if you want to see more of what he does don’t hesitate to visit his website here: http://www.andrewchase.com/
Cheers!
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