Nature Inspired Stainless Steel Art at La Petite Galerie | Museums

Metal art has been around since the Early Bronze Age. They made cups and bowls which were both decorative and practical. Today, metalwork is more decorative as seen in the variety of metal sculptures displayed in both public and private collections.

La Petite Galerie at the Center for the Arts glimmers with ethereal looking owls, fish, sea turtles, sunflowers and birds and they are all made meticulously by hand by a self-taught artist.

According to his website, first-time exhibitor Mike (Skel) Neall “is a self-taught artist from the pine barrens of southern New Jersey. He has spent most of his life in the transitional space where the saltwater of the coast meets the lowland forests. He spends treasured time on the beaches, marshes and in the woods. Thirty years of industrial sheet metal experience combined with passions for fly fishing, gardening, music and care for the environment have heavily influenced his art. The medium of his current work is durable stainless steel. With it, he brings reminders to explore nature’s majesty into the manmade environments of our homes and yards. He deliberately limits the techniques used to achieve color/value to the mark making of a grinder and the oxidation/patina from the heat of a torch in order to retain the integrity and authenticity of the metal.”

Art Done with or About Technology is currently on display at the Lauritzen Gallery and the Big Bold images of Stacie Krupa at the Rush Gallery through October 5, 2022.