Rearden Steel

About this work

I created this work on a dimensional panel which varies in height, width, and depth across the work, though much more subtly so than La Vie de Sirène or Midnight Duel. Here, a lower emphasis on dimensionality is complimented by an increased emphasis on illusionism, nearing trompe’loil, as the warm greys, iridescent silvers, and subtle touches of bronze and copper take on the appearance of industrial metal. On closer inspection, intricate details in the panel’s surface emerge, bringing to one’s awareness the wood panel on which the work was created. As one moves around the work, a gold undertone emerges, and under the right lighting conditions (warm lighting in the 3000k range—most of the lighting in homes is around this temperature), the gold even begins to jockey for predominance with the silver.

This work, like many others, was titled by my partner, Caitlin Lissauer. Here, the work’s title is in reference to Ayn Rand’s novel “Atlas Shrugged,” specifically the protagonist Hank Rearden, a maverick steel and metals industrialist.