Iron works are pouring in from all over the country to be displayed in the Brevard College Art Department’s upcoming show, “Fe Invitational Exhibition.”
The pieces will be on display in the Sims Art Building’s Spiers Gallery Aug. 28 through Sept. 25. An opening reception is slated for August 28th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Admission is free.
“When I arrived at Brevard as a professor, students and I constructed a cupola furnace for melting scrap iron and invited art students from nearby schools to help with our first iron pour in 2006,” said Kyle Lusk, associate professor of Art and coordinator of the exhibition. “We have been carrying on the tradition of hosting an “iron pour” at least once a year since.”
The qualifications for entering work in the show include: the focus of the piece had to be iron, cast iron was the main medium, or iron casting was the subject of the work. The pieces are all centered on the iron theme, but their variances around it are unique and intricate. One of the most captivating pieces is a video of artist Matthew Toole performing iron pours in Latvia and Scotland. The video will be shown at the reception and throughout the exhibition.
This is the third iron exhibition Lusk has lead in his time at Brevard. His experience with iron pouring in Western North Carolina is extensive, having spent about 20 years with various university programs. He began the tradition of hosting an iron pour in 2008 and welcomed art students from nearby schools to join. This year, the artists have travelled as far as Minnesota to join the exhibition.
The concept of iron pouring is one that thrives on collaboration and teamwork. Lusk describes the experience as a, “labor-intensive process” that benefits from “a large group of artists working together to each create their sculptures.” The sculptures in the gallery are all figurative, abstract, and non-objective works.