Sculpture

Cast found objects

I am a collector and painter of things that hold my curiosity and contain emotional value for me. How an object is painted describes the artist's attitude towards it or the memories and values it carries. These sculptures are a progression into this exploration, one which I believe will lead to many more projects. I generally paint from photographic reference but with still lives I not only use the reference but often hold the object while I paint to gain greater understanding of it. This close physical contact with the objects led me to want to turn them into sculptural pieces.

Cast found objects

I am a collector and painter of things that hold my curiosity and contain emotional value for me. How an object is painted describes the artist’s attitude towards it or the memories and values it carries. These sculptures are a progression into this exploration, one which I believe will lead to many more projects.

I generally paint from photographic reference but with still lives I not only use the reference but often hold the object while I paint to gain greater understanding of it.

This close physical contact with the objects led me to want to turn them into sculptural pieces.

 

Through great deliberation I selected a group of objects that have held my attention and all of which I have transformed into paintings in the past.

I am fascinated how an objects can gain a different visual value when cast in bronze. Take for instance the can sculpture, when cast in bronze it not only has the value of bronze but it appears to have far more of a visual pull which highlights it’s beautiful sculptural lines. It is no longer a piece of trash but a sculpture.

 

Applying the patina to the bronzes was almost a full circle as it took me back to painting. A new method where I had a lot less control as the heated bronze would alter the colour and intensity of mark in unexpected ways. It felt so wonderful to be out of control with the process and very much a student.

 

 

Grace Kotze

Discarded childhood

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 9cm x H: 11cm x D: 4cm 

The Kewpie Doll – first appeared in Rose O'Neill's comic strips in 1909. They have been embraced into the cultures of both the West and East and are constantly evolving with the times.

I was given my first one when I was about three years old and they have always held value for me in both sentiment and design. I have painted them often and this bronze copy of one is a way of showing their value where it no longer has a cheap body of plastic.

 

Grace Kotze

Abandoned witness

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 14cm x H: 7.5cm x D: 7cm 

This is a vintage Brownie 127 Camera dating back to the 1950’s. I am so aware when visiting the charity shops how there are so many unwanted “outdated” cameras that are practically given away. This work pays homage to such relics that get used and discarded. It also speaks of waste though our ever mutating technology.

 

Grace Kotze

The happiness of imagined promises

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 8cm x H: 12.5cm x D: 7cm 

Maneki-neko (Japanese: ???, literally "beckoning cat" or Fortune Cat can be traced back as far as 1852. It is commonly believed to be a talisman of good fortune and holds it paw in a beckoning movement drawing people into shops. It has become a popular image and one which I love for its simplicity of design and humour. Although it has been much commercialised I love its often shiny gold coating or white plastic. Having it cast in bronze was a way of showing the value it has for me, an object who’s whimsy I find offbeat and enchanting.

 

Grace Kotze

The secrets within

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 14.5cm x H: 13cm x D: 13.5cm

Being an artist I am constantly packaging work and putting them in cardboard boxes, it was inevitable that I started to see the beauty in the wrapping material and let it creep into my art works. This appreciation started earlier though, in my childhood I would watch my grandfather intrigued at how he would painstakingly wrap parcels and seal them with string and red sealing wax. The exterior of wrapped objects taking on a precious appearance even though the inner contents hold the true value to the sender.

 

Grace Kotze

Hollow promises

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 4cm x H:6cm  x D: 2.5cm

This cast was made of an old wooden printers block. It had lost its original use as technology rapidly shifts and traditional methods get discarded along the way. Through casting it in bronze I wanted to give it back a value of sorts. Hollow promises also examines the $ sign, a modern symbol for materialism and greed which ultimately falls flat with the destructive values of consumerism run amok.

 

Grace Kotze

Perceptions of beauty

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 7cm x H: 10.5cm  x D: 6cm

The can is a very useful object that is part of our everyday life, so often discarded without a second thought except for its contents. “Perceptions of beauty” attempts to show how, when re-examining the object its beautiful simplicity of design is seen.

 

Grace Kotze

Tribute

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 14.5cm x H: 22cm  x D: 4cm

I love scouring the shelves of charity shops and have found many beautiful old books which are sold for as little as R1.00. So many hold such beautiful illustrations and stories yet I could not find a single new object in South Africa that cost a rand. Casting a book of such a timeless valuable story that has shaped so many films, stories, toys and imaginations is a way of given value back to a thrift shop book.

 

Grace Kotze

Embodied dreams

Bronze

Edition 1/12

W: 11cm x H: 13cm  x D: 13cm

The yellow plastic duck was first made by Peter Ganine who patented his design in 1940 and over 50 million were sold. The duck has changed in form over the years but is a very popular image in popular culture and is bought by adults and children alike. For me the simple duck bobbing in a bathtub is a symbol of the imagination and dreams imagined.