About
Photo credit: © jen rush
Andrew C. Hellmund, MFA recently completed a MFA under British Sculptor, Peter Hide. He strives to create sculpture from found and recycled metals that express a sense of hope, fluidity, and power, while fostering and supporting community. His most recent work focuses on movement influenced by Lindy Hop, Jazz, and Cubism. The work is directly inspired by the Modernist sculptors of the 1970s, cubist sculpture, and works of Sir Anthony Caro and Peter Hide. His work also is strongly influenced by the surrounding community, including many mentors, friends, and other artists who, through their energy and willingness to share skills and time, have contributed to so much learning!
His work can be found in collections from New England to British Columbia, while his public art can be found on school campuses and in college communities. Without community---learning and being an artist would not be as engaging or fruitful. It is by "standing on the shoulders of giants, that we are able to see further" (Sir Isaac Newton) as well as develop new art and ideas! The beauty of art is that everyone has something to share and in turn the artist with everyone. Every sculpture requires welding together pieces of metal without being afraid to then cut them up, eliminate pieces or reassemble them in order to develop and explore new ideas.
recent 2019 Documentary, “Andrew Hellmund” Virgina A. Groot Foundation
“My sense is that he has a voice—the range is both being expanded and refined. To walk into his studio is to sense work under way, and witness the excitement of discovery and reflection. ”
Full Artist Statement
My sculpture originates in the found and the discarded. It straddles the industrial and the natural, asking questions of our sense of form and space, presence and void. My art explores the language at the intersection of sculpture, dance, architecture and history. Focusing on movement influenced by Lindy Hop and other dance forms, jazz, and Cubism. The work is directly inspired by the Modernist sculptors of the 1970s, cubist sculpture, and works of Sir Anthony Caro and Peter Hide. While more recently taking cues from the industrial fabricating world that I work in daily.
The work that I produce is driven by the constant desire to create sculptures that express movement, thoughtfully consider the history of their respective found objects that are incorporated within while also obliterating some of the objects history and creating a new narrative of movement and flow while juxtaposing the recognizable with the unknown. I have always enjoyed watching dance, Ballet, modern, and more recently embraced dancing in a social setting with Swing dancing and solo jazz. To me it is the motion, gesture and energy that dancing exudes that really fascinates me. It is about the forms that are created in space that is what captivates me and informs on my formal decisions in art.
My practice of art making is both about my own demand for creativity, ideation, and development as an artist and about developing a sense of community from a diverse collection of community members, who normally wouldn’t cross paths (blue collar, farmers, art appreciators, collectors, and the everyday viewer.) One of my recognized skills is developing and bringing together people from all walks of life. I believe that engaging with a diverse collection of individuals promotes more and better developed ideas, collaboration and solutions to real problems across disciplines.