CAST METAL
The iron casting process is just as important as its product--within both James Brenner seeks to harness the fascinating dichotomy between chaos and control. Brenner's molds control the chaos of the molten metal, with the edges serving as parameters for the sculpture to create itself and be witnessed as a spectacle. The random patterning of the surface of the piece is like a topographical mapping of that form, created by nature and controlled by the artist.
Within Brenner's collaborative public works, the casting process involves working with a community of artists and non-artists to harness the transformative and age-old magic of iron itself. The overall necessity of collaboration among the cast iron community weaves a social fabric enabling the resulting sculptural objects. The participants and observers alike become forever interlaced within the memory of this event.
