Steel is one of the most recyclable materials in the world; it can be melted down and reused in any number of ways without losing its integrity. However, some very talented people using recycled steel in a very different way to most: to make art.
Some say that one man’s trash is man’s is treasure. When it comes to recycled steel art, this has never been more true.
Andrew Chase
Andrew Chase is an incredibly talented photographer and sculptor who makes animal sculptures from a variety of recycled steel parts from, sheets to wheels. The wolf below is just one of a series that also included an elephant, a cheetah and a Tyrannosaurus. Check them out here.
Garage 54
Garage 54 use scrap steel (amongst other materials) to make small, abstract sculptures with minimal alterations to the original materials. Each sculpture is a unique creation, some useful, some purely aesthetic. Our favourite is their Steel Emulsion piece – a camera made entirely from steel cogs, nuts and bars.
Robosteel
Irish company Robosteel use steel parts from cars, planes and motorcycles to create gigantic sculptures of movie characters (Alien, Predator, the Terminator, Star Wars, Spiderman etc). They also do custom work – if you’ve got anything in mind.
Recycle Art
Recycle Art are a Swiss company that also make terrifying animal sculptures (plus an array of other works) from recycled structural steel parts also taken from cars and motorcycles. Their tallest sculpture sits at 8 metres high. Check out a gallery of their best work here.
Lin Evola-Smidt
Lin Evola-Smidt is a renowned artist who gained quite a lot of recgonition in the 90s for her Peace Angels body of work. The project aims to promote peace and discourage violence by using melted down (steel) weapons to create sculptures of renaissance peace angels. She works quite closely with law enforcement agencies and governments to gain access to the weapons that allow her to build these beautiful sculptures.
Kreat Works
Kreat Works create incredibly detailed scrap steel sculptures at an impressive rate. Their portfolio includes an array of different characters from movie and folklore, including characters from Pirates of the Caribbean, Alien and Preadtor, Star Wars, Wall-E, the Hulk and Hellboy. Check out all of their sculptures here. Many are for sale!
Bob ‘Stig’ Campbell
Bob Campbell, also known as Stig, creates unique pieces from scrap steel items, specialising in using cogs, saws and chains to make industrial furniture. To add an element of comfort, these steel pieces are embellished with wood, leather and cushioning and are 100% functional (and for sale).
Peter Root
Peter Root‘s Ephemicropolis is a little smaller than these other examples, utilising over 100,000 steel staples to recreate a city skyline. It took over 40 hours to make back in 2010, and he is currently in the process of working towards a 1 million staple version.
Lee Jae Hyo
Lee Jae Hyo is a master of using recycled materials to create marvellous pieces of art. His works use a range of materials like wood and stone, but it’s his steel ones that are the most striking. His work, titled “00121-110=106062 (Bench) is made form hundreds of old steel nails, pounded into a slab of wood, then bent into shape and polished. The wood was then set on fire, giving it a distinct charred look.
Giants of Steel
Armin Ciesielski, Peter Brakel and Walter Willer from German company Giants of Steel take the cake when it comes to recycled steel masterpieces. The trio build it an extremely detailed replica of the Mercedes-Benz 300SL “Gullwing” using 10,000 pieces of scrap metal. The level of intricacy here is absolutely mind-blowing. See below:
The depth of creativity that steel fabrication can inspire in architecture is truly incredible. Steel Fabrication Services are proud to work in range of fields in the steel industry, from steel detailing and drafting, steel installation and delivery and working with structural steel.
If you need professional advice from a steel fabricator, or to get a steel quote from us, contact us here, because no one knows steel like we do.
If you’re as interested in steel as we are, have a read of our article on how steel is made.
