Dawn Arena is a sculptor who uses different material to achieve shapes and beings found in nature. She has many works available in the Museum Shop at Grounds for Sculpture in Hamilton. Her current favorite medium is stainless steel flatware.
Fashioning the stainless utensils into creatures that make you not notice the flatware at all, is quite a feat. Please stop in your next time at GFS and have a look.
When did you begin in the arts?
I have always experimented and made art in one way or another. I explore many mediums. I started making art full time in 1998. I showed work at Gallery Art 54 on Greene and Broome in NYC. I showed there for 3 years and it was a dream come true for me.
Which media do you work in?
I worked with organic materials in the beginning. My paintings usually had a textural feel. I first created many pieces of clay, cement and papier Mache’. I have also used wood, leaves and marble dust. I have also made pieces with found objects. I have always been influenced by nature.
Where did you get the training in metal work? Sculpting?
After 3 years in NYC, I got married. We had a son and I took a hiatus from making art until our son went to kindergarten. I then teamed up with a sculptor, Glenn Murgacz. He taught me to weld and I helped him with some large outdoor sculpture. I was with him for 7 years, before he moved away. One favorite piece is a 14-foot fireman sculpture for a fire house in Avenel titled “The Smoke Eater.”
We worked together on other outdoor sculpture in region.
Which is your favorite material to sculpt with and why?
After Glenn moved away, I still worked in metal, but now it was flatware, or what is called silverware. I so enjoyed the challenge of using it to make sculpture.
Where do you get your ideas/subject matter from?
My ideas come from nature which is all around me. I live on a lake in South Brunswick, and everyday I’m in awe of the beauty that is here.
How large do you work?
I love the stainless steel flatware as a material, as I can massage the metal into almost anything. People commission me to create things that they have a vision for but cannot bring to life. This is different than being inspired to create something. This process is listening and putting yourself in their heads as they tell the story of what they want.
One of my recent public sculptures was created for Pompano Beach Club in Florida. It is a 5×4 Pompano fish, made of found steel objects. In Tyler State Park, Bucks County is one of my pieces titled, “Mother”. It is a 7 foot aluminum sculpture. I also have two on permanent display at Hamilton Library, “Smoke Before Fire” and “Bird”. Both are made of steel.
Who are some of your inspirations or influences?
The sculptor Isaac Witkin is one of my biggest influences. I have a photo of him in my studio and feel like he watches me when I work.
What fight/struggle do you have regarding your art?
Not a struggle but gathering all the material I need to make my work. I am always treasure hunting at scrapyards, flea markets and yard sales. I prefer to use discarded objects and give them new life. Being able to weather the elements and constantly working with fire and heat are a challenge.
Would you consider your work representational? It seems very personal.
The work is both personal and representational. I made prosthetic fingertips that slipped over his shortened fingers. The look he showed after 55 years with those missing was priceless. I also made a sculpture fashioned after the lips of Big Ang who starred in the reality show Mob Wives. We met at her bar The Drunken Monkey on Staten Island. That was a fun project.
How long have you been represented in the Grounds for Sculpture Museum Store?
I have been showing and selling work at the Museum Shop at Grounds for Sculpture since 2018. I recently added a new piece, a 3’ x 5’ Octopus. Hit is made form 500 spoons and cheese graters. He really means business. I have loyal patrons that keep me busy and that makes me happy.
Sculptor Dawn Arena.,
