IIW welded art exhibition, 2021

LUIS PEREZ (Spain)

Once Luis Perez completed his sculpture studies in 2017 at the School Pau Gargallo de Badalona, his work focused mainly on steel and stone sculptures. Depending upon the work to be done, the steel pieces involved both using the traditional blacksmithing as well as modern welding techniques including plasma cutting. His welded pieces are both abstract and figurative, and have been welded mainly with manual metal arc electrodes or by Metal Inert/Active Gas (MIG/MAG) welding. The sculptures which he makes do not follow a specific style, and can go from rounded to rectangular shapes, but in the most figurative pieces he has been inspired by the techniques of the work of Pau Gargallo, Julio González and Ricard Mira with whom he has worked as an assistant.

Contact info E-mail: lupequi@gmail.com • Instagram: @lupequi @lupequimax

Exhibit “CHANDELIER” This individual piece made of 3mm steel plate, evokes elements of nature in tune with astronomy, inspired by Catalan modernism. It is like a tree that grows and transforms into a trunk and a crown represented by an “armillary” ring, seeking the earthly and astral connection. The piece is divided into two parts: The first, being the trunk and the foot of the chandelier, which starts from an irregular rectangular base that is undergoing a meandering transformation into curved lines to transmute to a triangular plane reaching 530 mm in height. A second, 300 mm diameter ring arranged on an inclined plane with respect to the central axis, seeks to complement the volume of the piece, to complete its spatial dimension. In the same ring, there are three supports to house the candles, arranged at different heights playing with the points of light. Manual metal arc welding with rutile electrodes with a soft arc to have a light penetration so as not to pierce the plate was used. The excess weld metal was polished with a sander to be able to leave the edges smooth, leaving a defined line. To finish, he used a copper oxide patina, the end result being a rough and warm texture with uneven earth colour. Dimensions 53 cm high x 30 cm wide

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