Mennello Museum of American Art

Forging steel in a form of plasticity and pliability, internationally renowned metal artist Albert Paley deals with the transformational change of the material through tapering, swaging, splitting, upsetting and punching. The result is sculpture developed of organic form analogous to processes seen in nature, such as the development of organic form in response to gravity with the emphasis on transition through the quality of line. This exhibition incorporates recent works Paley has completed in the forged process alongside earlier pieces and drawings. Included in this exhibition are several sculptures completed at Steneby, The School of Craft and Design at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden and other smaller works that exemplify his mastery of the forged technique. Exquisite drawings completed for finished works show the depth of his process, taking the idea from two to three dimensions. Paley’s use of steel can be described as industrial poetry: His large sculptures “Interlace” and “Star” stand in the museum’s Sculpture Garden, dedicated in the memory of the late founder, the Honorable Marilyn Logsdon Mennello.