Artist Statement
I appreciate the energy captured by the fabrication of a forged piece and the design process it entails. The majority of my work is a result of experimentation with the inherit properties of materials and my intent with the fabrication process. The physical demands and concentration involved in blacksmithing allow me to reach a meditative realm where my hammer flows freely and intuitively. This mental state helps to focus my movement and energy. I enjoy forging steel because I can see the hammer textures frozen in the steel as it cools. The effort to push materials to their full potential develops a creative style that resonates the sincerity of my intent.
Biography
Wade Buck has been working within the metal art field for more than ten years. Though his artworks are created from various metals, they are influenced by fabrication techniques and experiences in architectural work, textile, ceramics, woodworking, landscaping, and blown glass. Wades’ recent work is exploring the interrelationships and intentions between the maker and the material. Through his aspired process of representation, his intent is to approach a conversation of materiality by staying true to chosen materials and their inherent properties.
Wade received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from Northern Michigan University. Before leaving the Upper Peninsula he was also an apprentice artist under Gordon Gearhart and taking on various architectural commissions of his own. While enrolled as a candidate for the Master of Fine Arts degree at Eastern Michigan University, Wade wrote articles about contemporary blacksmithing for national and international publications and exhibited nationwide. He received his M.F.A. in 2016 and is currently installing a blacksmithing and jewelry program at a local maker space. In the studio, he is continuing to experiment with raised copper hollowware, traditional ironwork, and jewelry techniques for new sculptural forms and an investigation of materiality.
© Wade Buck / wbuckmetal@gmail.com