Salvaged sheet metal is the fascination that fuels James Andrew’s art. Treasure is found in dented cabinet doors, discarded shelving and wrinkled fragments of industry.
Their jagged edges are twisted and torn in all the right ways, offering grainy surfaces that have often lost their luster.
The salvage yard is Andrew’s source of inspiration, and these pieces call out to him from the mountains of scrap. The patina of rust is what seals the deal for him. It catches his eye and elevates a piece from mere trash to something rare and beautiful.
Once home, they are stacked along a rock wall at the back of Andrew’s casita. Posed in the stark sunlight and awaiting their fate, the details of their decay become even more apparent. Shadows and patterns stand out when given individual and lengthy consideration. When chosen as a canvas for his next piece, these rescued bits of litter take new shape and meaning.
Andrew applies soft pastels to the warped panels. The official art term he cheekily uses for his application process is “smushing.” Using his fingers as the main tools, pastels are smushed into the nooks and crannies of the scrap. Fusing the chalky substance with the coarse finish of the metal, the outcome is often unpredictable. The remnants of paint or finish, combined with the layers of rust often create a resistance to the applied pastels.
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