Steele 005
$2,500
$2,500
2024
Cold rolled steel, oxidized and chemically treated, artist frame
48 x 36 inches (49.5 x 37.5 x 1.5 inches framed)
$2,500
The works in Ryan Buenning’s series "Steele" are records of their own making and time passed. Whereas some artists strive to mask their physical effort by smoothing brushwork, sanding rough edges, or exhibiting objects perfected by industrial precision, Buenning opts for what is immediately recognizable as weathered metal to evoke process and duration. At first glance, it’s easy to understand that the steel sheets are rusted, decayed, and transformed by lengthy exposure to the elements. But the beautiful spattering of colors – bright white, vibrant blues, light ochres, all tints of brown, and near-black -- conjures something much more than the everyday piece of metal left to the elements.
For a decade before the "Steele" series, Buenning was painting signs on found, rusted metal. He admits that while he’s not unique in his love of aged industrial buildings or old cars, rust is possibly one of the most beautiful materials in his opinion. It makes total sense that he’d become so intimately involved with it as a process and medium.
The artist begins with cold rolled sheets of steel, which he strips of their industrial sealant. For the following 5-6 weeks, he ages the steel sheets in the south Texas environs of Round Top, where he lives and works. Laying them flat on the earth and intermittently encouraging oxidation, the artist watches for a uniform ground of rust to develop across the sheet. Returning them to his studio, he treats them selectively with a variety of household chemicals, acids, and sometimes paint. There is a give-and-take to this process that is arguably more contentious than painting, since the materials can be unpredictable even with Buenning steering and reacting to them and deciding when he’s done just enough. He then gives them back to mother nature, as he puts it. Taking them outside again, wetting them, pressing them face to face, stacking multiple sheets atop one another. When he’s pushed the compositions just far enough, he fixes the materials and builds a self-made, practical pine frame around each piece. The overall character is unfussy, straightforward, and enchanting.