Highlighting something seemingly worthless by casting it in bronze was explored by Jasper Johns in the 1960s. Works such as Painted Bronze (Ale Cans) (1960), like other members of the Pop Art movement, blurred the boundaries between high art and mass culture. Belgian designer Jens Praet plays with a similar concept, immortalising something discarded, into a thing of beauty.
The Dressed Ware series (2014) is a collection of functional art objects made from scrap fabric dipped in hot wax and shaped by hand over existing homeware items. The hardened wax was then cast in bronze and patinated in an oxidised blue patina. The resulting pieces retain the texture of the fabric and change slightly in colour as they age. Studio Jens Praet is based in San Gimignano near Siena, Italy.
Dressed Ware Vase
Dressed Ware Plate
Images by Kent Pell via Studio Jens Praet
