Tributaries: Monica Coyne

July 7 – September 29, 2019

Keeler Gallery at the Metal Museum

 The Metal Museum is pleased to announce Tributaries: Monica Coyne, the next exhibition in the Tributaries series. Tributaries: Monica Coyne will open on Sunday, July 7 and run through Sunday, September 29, 2019. The Museum will host a reception and gallery talk with the artist on Sunday, July 14 at 3pm with the gallery talk beginning at 4pm. In addition to the exhibition, Monica will be leading a small class in the Metals Studio.

Monica Coyne is an artist-blacksmith based in rural California. She is traditionally trained in woodworking, which can be seen in the design and execution of forged joinery in her pieces. Living in both urban and rural environments created questions that Monica addresses with her work. Her figurative sculptures are inspired by man’s place in the natural environment, drawing connections between the state of human progress and the value of the wild around us.

“This mixture of carbon and iron that humans have been playing with for thousands of years, this ancient alchemy, lights up my mind like nothing else. By understanding ancient processes, I push toward something new,” says the artist. “My work has always been an experiment in altering my own perception of what a bar of steel represents. I formed the hot steel and as it cooled, I would catch a glimpse of stretching skin. When the pressure of the drift expanded the hole, I could see fat swelling into a breast. My figures are shaped from the perfectly dimensioned bar that comes from one of our most historically important industries.”

Monica studied Industrial Arts at Humboldt State University in Arcata, California in 1987, and her work has been featured in numerous publications including Elementum Journal (UK), Fine Homebuilding Magazine (USA), HEPHAISTOS (Germany), The Anvil’s Ring (USA), and NOMMA (USA).

Photo credits are in the PDF document -  TributariesMonicaCoyne.pdf