Heavy Metal: The Artist and the Foundry

This panel explores how modern and contemporary artists’ collaborations with foundries shaped their work. Papers could examine such questions as: How did different artists become involved with the casting process to varying degrees, and how did the technical expertise of the craftspeople and technicians at foundries play a role with some artists versus others? How did the relationship forge new possibilities in art? Many foundries are multigenerational, with technical knowledge developed and passed down. How did the working relationships of the artist and foundry change over time? What is the role of the foundry in an artist’s legacy? How, also, were foundries spaces of international exchange? How did the processes and metal materials used in different countries affect how the artist and foundry worked together? We invite papers that contribute new narratives about the key role of foundries in the innovation of ambitious sculpture in the modern and contemporary period.