Metal is the main ingredient in countless everyday materials, but one ASU graduate student showcases it as an art form.
This past week the Harry Wood Gallery, located on the first floor of the School of Art building, hosted the exhibit, Dynamical Balance.
Put on by the Herberger College of Arts, Dynamical Balance displays numerous metal-art works by graduate student Victoria Altepeter.
Altepeter arrived at ASU in 2006 after earning her BFA at NAU in 2005.
Since arriving at ASU, she has been working on her graduate studies with Becky McDonah, an assistant professor at the School of Art.
Altepeter said she has been working with metal as a form of art since 2000.
“I am inspired to create in metal, precious metals, for the permanent quality the material has,” she said.
In the entry of the gallery, circular-shaped pieces cover the room from wall to wall, and others hang from the ceiling.
Large black ovals with small circular metallic art attached to it suspend from the room’s ceiling, showcasing the largest work that room holds.
Altepeter’s work is classified into seven different types: universal, visions and interpretations, galactic, expanse, radiance, dynamical balance and sky maps.
Each category uses an assorted amount of metal, ranging from lead to gold, to characterize each individual item, leaving it up to the viewer’s interpretation.
Art education junior Richard Bloom said he wasn’t used to viewing metal art and that Altepeter’s work had a different take on self-expression.
“It is very obscure, but it grabs ahold of my attention,” he said. “You can see many different meanings behind a single piece.”
Bloom said he is no stranger to the exhibits held in the Harry Wood Gallery.
“My teachers are always informing us about art that is on display, and this is probably the most unique I’ve seen,” he said.
Altepeter said that she tries to capture moments that are perpetually changing.
“I am inspired by events which are in constant motion, she said. “Especially functions in the universe, macrocosmically and microcosmically.”
Dynamical Balance finishes its run on Friday.
Reach the reporter at garrett.may@asu.edu.
