Brian Russell

Biography

Speaking quietly, yet powerfully about his ideas lead Brian Russell into the purity of Glass and forged metal sculpture. In the late seventies Brian explored the human form with a camera until his introduction into sculpture in the early eighties. Creating with his hands was a fascinating process that led him into wood and stone carvings which soon progressed to freestanding sculptures from scrap steel and industrial debris.

After creating his pieces in his mother's back yard, Russell soon established his first studio in the mid-eighties and so the journey began. The possibilities of working with hot forged steel and using the techniques of traditional blacksmiths shaped him into experimenting new ways to transform and master the mixture of Glass and Forged Metal. For the next nine years Brian started laying his foundation. After moving to a larger studio in 1994 in the lush countryside of Tennessee, Russell began producing an exceptional volume of work. This would send him to creating four commissioned monumental architectural sculptures, numerous awards and exhibitions from his home base to New York, Chicago and various locations in California.

On a visit to New Zealand in the late nineties Brian was exposed to a lost Wax Glass Casting technique that would produce exciting results. After a couple more years of experimenting with his fusion of this lost casting and forged metals, he would go on to create the purity of synergy that propelled him into his current state. The metal work gives scale and structure while the glass speaks quietly to a powerfully effective flow which gives life to his repertoire.