hanging out with patrick toups
Patrick in front of the studio shed he built in his yard
I took a visit to Patrick Toups’ house and studio today to talk to him some about the June 4th show.
He’s busy right now making work for the show, including what he calls oxidation canvases. These are iron sculptures that he embeds inside a wooden canvas. He then pours a liquid mixture over the iron that causes it to oxidize and rust.
Here’s a sneak preview:
"Sculptures of paintings" lying on the roof. The iron shapes are actually bolted into their wooden frames.
Patrick got interested in oxidation while riding the MARTA line. He noticed that a lot of man-made protective structures like fence posts lining the tracks were rusting from decades of rainfall, and came to understand the process of oxidation as nature’s way of responding to the city.
oxidized iron running off a fencepost. taken by Patrick Toups.
For the One Twelve Gallery show Patrick is building his largest ever oxidation canvas, which will be 21 feet tall and 60 feet wide. He likes the idea of people encountering his work on this monumental scale, which is why he was first attracted to our space.
Patrick wants his foundry work to be as environmentally sustainable as possible, so he “uses every part of the buffalo.” He showed me some unsuccessful casts he’d made during one of his iron pours at Castleberry Hill’s Elliott Street Pub. He plans to display the miscast in our show, in order to reveal the process behind his work.
There is much more to say about Patrick’s technique and vision, but for now I’ll leave you with these photos and invite you to come see his work for yourself on June 4th.
This red sculpture sits in Patrick's back yard when it isn't on show. He says he mostly uses basic geometric shapes in his work because they are so foundational. He likes iron for the same reason -- it literally makes up the core of our earth.
the portable iron-melting furnace that Patrick built
more studio space
Acree Graham
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Patrick, where is your hair?
Hey, I am trying to get the sculpture center up and working – the one we talked about in the fire department bays, we got the ok to develop.
Trying to come up with a plan and partnerships, one is UCF professor- sculpture, David Isenhower. I am namedropping your name as one of our Florida Sculptor Guild founder and how you did PIG pours.
Trying to get alot of “Seeing Sculpture” in Casselberry. We have our sculpture garden and park already done.
Would love to hear from you, email or call me at 407-782-6344 whatever is easier.
Love the canvases! You’re always working hard!!
Linda
I’ve been trying to find a price list for Patrick Toup’s “entity” series of sculptures.