Artist's Statement on Sculpture

MICHAEL POAST

​

I sculpt steel. Cutting lines with a gas torch, into solid steel, releases tension and urgency of my expression. Movement is created and implied by the linear forms of solid metal stacked and wedged into compositions. Stylized steel shapes are thrust, leaned, jutted, twisted, and radiate out into spatial push. Zig-zag cuts and solids of manipulated steel I-beams, channels, angles, rods and plate, climb out into and activate surrounding space. This activated energy captures and incorporates negative space, mass and volume in multiple dimensions and unity of form.

​

Mentored by Mark Di Suvero in a studio residency at Socrates Sculpture Park in Long Island City, NY, in the 1990's, I refined my sense of large forms and furthered my commitment to sculpture in steel. Since that exploration I have installed many public art sculptures in New York City and vicinity including Long Island, the Tri-State area, the Hudson Valley, and points west. I strive to engage with the sense of "place" and environment, where my sculpture enhances and works with the site. A contrasting statement can transform a specific location into a dynamic and enlivening experience.

​

My constant engagement with the manipulation of form culminates in dynamic structures of steel. Having an affinity for using torch and flame to work metal, I find welding a direct process for the physicality of spatial confrontation. Cutting into raw steel releases violent emotions in the jagged-edged negative spaces and at the same time reveals a beauty to the smooth hard steel.

​

Symbols, shapes, volumes, massive space, time, branching patterns, music notation, ancient scripts, mark making, landscape, manipulation of the metal, all hold meaning and expressive power. I translate influences and interests in these elements to inform my sculpture and give it meaning and palpable impact.

Rust weathers into color nuances and adds another dimension to the surface of the steel. Natural patinas of golden, orange and reddish hues, allowed to develop over time and seasons in an outdoor environment, enhance the expressive quality of the pieces.

​

Not commonly thought of as refined art materials, the selected and remnant steel, gleaned and/or acquired from New York construction sites, or sourced for its industrial structural strength, are transformed into sculptures that reveal beauty, power, and carve out significant form.