Art Foundry
The work involves preparing moulds, casting molten metal, making the raw foundry bronzes, chasing, and finally, if required, hot patination. The Art Foundry craftsmen and women are creative individuals with acute artistic sensibility.
A team effort
The first step in the creation of a bronze sculpture is the dialogue that takes place between the artist or the commissioner and the foundry artisans. The work is carefully thought through in advance to ensure the making process runs smoothly.
The chosen technique and the mould-making stage are adapted to facilitate the finishing work and show the final piece to its best advantage. The founder (who makes the moulds and cast), the chaser and the finisher anticipate imperfections and the sculpture's potential weak points from the outset.
Foundry techniques
Complex forms can be achieved with lost-wax casting, a technique practised since 1500 BC. V-Process casting, which uses vacuum moulding and was developed in the 1970s, is another method that gives high-quality results.
The chaser gives the piece its final aesthetic character, bringing it close to the original model by correcting the rough patches on the raw foundry metal. The hot patina finisher colours the metal using a palette of over 250 available tones.
Original works and reproductions
We make sets of eight, limited series and reproductions for the general public. The Art Foundry produces pieces:
- created in-house;
- made in collaboration with an external artist;
- on behalf of clients, providing cast copies.
The artist and the craftsmen and women work symbiotically to produce a bronze sculpture that is faithful to the artist's intention and overcomes technical constraints.
