John T Unger Artist's Portfolio

Stone and Steel Figurative Sculptures

Big Horse Pull Toy, 2003 Recycled steel, granite   38" x 51.75" x 16.5" Buy it at my ArtBuzz Blog
Ever since I made Big Horse Pull-Toy, I've been meaning to create more "sculpture on wheels." It's a very simple way to play with movement in a piece, but I like the idea of a sculpture that's easy to move around to different locations. There's an appeal, to my mind, in the idea of making sculpture less monumental and more intimate by allowing it the feedom to roam about. I also like the idea of being able to redesign a landscape or garden in the same way that one might move the furniture around in the living room. One might change the accents around as the seasons change, or maybe just mix things up now and then to keep them fresh. The figures below are one-of-a-kind pieces inspired by, and built around,  stone shapes that catch my eye from the cast-away pile at a local stone vendor's. Because the stone is polished on one side only, the back is decorated with copper.
Little Miss Exuberance, 2003 Steel, Granite, Copper 74" x 27" x 12" Buy Her at Artbuzz	Akimbo, 2003 Steel, Granite, Copper 80" x 38.5" x 12" Private Collection	Akimbo,detail	Akimbo,detail	Lookout, 2003 Granite, Steel 35" x 24" x 12" Private Collection
Signal, 2003 Steel, Granite, Copper 61" x 27" x 12" Private Collection	Signal, detail	Sentinal, 2002 Granite, Steel 32" x 40" x 8" Private Collection	Curious Child, 2002 Granite, Steel 36" x 34" x 8" Buy Him at Artbuzz	Lightning Moon Man, 2003 Steel, vitreous glass 20" x 16" x 7.5" Private Collection
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Tags: art, dance, garden, granite, metal, puppy, sculpture, stone sculpture, yard

Frog Fountain Wire Sculpture

Frog Fountain, 2004 Steel, wire, hose, copper, paint 61" L x 28" W x 12" H (65" H with stand) Available from Cycling Salamander Gallery
The better part of two 1/4 mile spools of wire went into making this fountain. I found myself singing Bo Diddley's Who Do You Love? pretty much the whole time I was making it (47 miles of barbed wire, etc.). You can read more about the process and see photos of the frog in progress by visiting this entry of the studio blog.
Alternate view	Detail	Detail
	Movie	Movie
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Tags: art, garden, kinetic art, metal, fountain, sculpture, yard

Whimsical Garden Sculptures

Garden Guardian. 2002. Steel. Private Collection
These three sculptures are early examples of sculpture based on line art drawings. The Guardian sculpture is one of the few I've done which combines lines and planes. Turning a drawing into a sculpture is a bit tricky. As simple as the end result looks, it only works if all the lines connect in some way— you can't just hang a piece of steel in space. It also helps to consider the nature of the material… steel likes to bend in certain ways, and although you can force it to do whatever you want, I find that if you work with it, it will naturally produce very clean, subtle curves that are well suited to graceful and nuanced drawings. These first efforts were influenced somewhat by petroglyphs and doodles. Since then, I've refined this style of sculpture into a more gestural,  narrative format seen in my Acrobats, Dancers  and fences.
Mermaid, 2003: steel, Private Collection	Tag!, 2003: steel, Private Collection
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Tags: abstract, abstract sculpture, art, iron work, metal, outdoor, sculpture, steel, yard

Animal Line Drawing Sculptures in Steel

Abstract Bull, State 11. 2005. Steel. Dimensions variable. Custom Order Item
Picasso has had a quiet, but huge influence on my fences and sculpture. Whatever else you may choose to say about the man, he had a knack for draughting the perfect line and I've aspired to match him on that when drawing my Acrobats and Dancers for steel sculpture and fences. The Bull above is adapted from State 11 of Picasso's 1945 series of lithographs known as The Bull. He started with a fully realized, realistic image of a bull and proceeded in each of eleven states to further simplify it down to the most essential lines. That's pretty much exactly the process I follow when creating a Dancer sculpture… I start from a photo, abstract to the minimum number of lines and then tweak it until the gesture of the figure conveys movement so strongly you can't help but see what's about to happen next.  I wasn't thinking of Picasso's Bulls when I started working with the Dancer sculptures and fences, (actually, I was thinking about Haring's desire to create easily understood imagery that appealed to the broadest number of people without sacrificing depth) but it's certainly the same process. I'd love to do the last three states of the litho series as a set, or even recreate all eleven as a wall mural or fence. If you're interested in this idea as a custom project, drop me a line. The Bird sculptures below were early experiments in using line art as a basis for sculpture. If I remember correctly, one was based on a neon sign and the other I drew by hand. The dog is a more recent piece  I adapted from a doodle in the margins of my notes from an Arts Council board meeting.
Heron, 2003: steel, 58" tall Private Collection	Doggie Doodle, 2005: steel, 30" H x 42" W x 6" D? Custom Order Item	Flamingo, 2003: steel, 56" tall Private Collection
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Tags: abstract, abstract sculpture, art, iron work, metal, outdoor, sculpture, steel, yard

Fun With Saw Blades: A Couple Custom Jobs

Sign for the Cole Farm, 2006. Recycled steel. 30" x 30" Commission
The sign above was made for a local produce farmer. The "C" is based on lettering from an antique seed catalog that happened to share his family name. Kinda cool. The door shown below was a little fix-it job I had some fun with. The original vent door for my uncle's fireplace had broken off (cast iron is like that). He needed a new door that could be fit to the original hinge. I figured the saw blade made a nice reference to the fire inside, and plus, it was just the right size.
Fireplace  door, vent closed 2002: saw blade, steel 8" x 8" Commission	Fireplace  door, vent open 2002: saw blade, steel 8" x 8" Commission
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Tags: art, iron work, metal, recycled, steel

Recycled Yard Gongs Make A Beautiful Ringing Bell Tone

Garden Meditation Gong. 2006. Recycled steel. 85" H x 35" W x 12" D Available
The freestanding garden gong above would make a nice centerpiece for any garden… it requires a concrete pad below grade to stabilize it (or you could do something like a cool stonework base to hold it in place). The bell shown below was cut from a recycled Oxygen tank. The decorative piece on top was scrap from making the Great Bowl O Fire. The  hanger is made from a farm implement that plows the earth.My bells are all one of a kind and tend to vary in design and tone. If you'd like to order one, drop me a line.
Big Bell, 2006: recycled steel 16" to 24" x 9" x 9" Custom Order Item	Big Bell, 2006: recycled steel 16" to 24" x 9" x 9" Custom Order Item
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Tags: art, garden, metal, outdoor, patio, recycled, steel, yard

Fire Wood Cradle Made From A Recycled Radiator

Antique Radiator Firewood Cradle, 1999. Cast iron, recycled steel. 23.5" x 22" x 8.5" Custom order only

I love the visual pun of making a cradle for holding fire wood from sections of an old radiator. This piece was originally made as a Christmas present, but I'd be into the idea of making more of them. No two will be exactly alike since the design and pattern of the radiator sections is likely to vary pretty widely.

 

Tags: art, deck, design, fire, fireplaces, flame, folkart, funky, home, patio, recycled

Gates, fences + Trellises

Blue Bottle Fence. 2006. Steel, glass. Dimensions variable More info on bottle fences here.
The gates below are largely created from various recycled elements… If you'd like to talk about a custom fence or gate project, drop me a line.
Fruited Vine Garden Screen, 2003: steel, copper, 45" x 24" x 1.5" Private Collection	Art Nouveau Gate, 2003: steel, copper, 68.5" x 38.5" x 3" Availlable	MacIntosh  Screen, 2003: steel, 48" x 36" x 2" Availlable
Devil in the Jungle Gate, 1998 steel 48" H x 42" W x 2" D Commission 2025 S. Halsted, Chicago	Devil in the Jungle Gate, 1998 steel 48" H x 42" W x 2" D Commission 2025 S. Halsted, Chicago	Legba Gate, 1998 steel 48" H x 42" W x 2" D Commission 2025 S. Halsted, Chicago
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Tags: art, modernist, design, modern design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

Modern Security Grates in Steel + Copper

Keeping out of the Jones', 2004 steel, copper. dimensions variable Commission
Elise Jones wanted burglar bars for her ground floor windows, but she didn't want to feel like she was in prison when she looked through them. These steel and copper grilles will definitely keep people out—but they do seem to attract admiring stares. When I returned to the site to finish installation, I met an architect who requested that I tender his apologize to the Jones family…he had been standing there looking at the grates for ten or fifteen minutes before he realized that he was also inadvertently staring into someone's window.
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Tags: art, modernist, design, modern design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

Frank Lloyd Wright Styled Fence in Steel, Slate, Copper + Glass

Frank Lloyd Wright Inspired Fence, 2004 steel, slate, durock, vitreous glass, copper. 48" H x 48" W x 1.5" D (per section) Commission
The floral pattern in these fences was designed to complement clerestory windows overlooking the courtyard where they are installed. Incorporating natural slate, iridescent glass mosaic tile and copper, this project is the culmination of techniques I have been developing over the past few years. Although the original plans called for the sections to be painted black, the clients chose a rust finish in order to integrate more naturally with the landscape.
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Tags: art, modernist, design, modern design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

City Gates, 4022 N. Sheridan Road Chicago

City Gates, 2002 Steel. 96" H x 96" W x 2" D Commission
City Gates, commissioned by Bob Racky for his offices at 4022 N. Sheridan Road, Chicago, features two pairs of gates based on maps of the Chicago area. The south gates show Riverside, IL and feature urban planning by Frederic Law Olmstead in the lower left corner. It's not on every project that an ironworker gets to “quote” the designer of Central Park! The north gates are based on Des Plaines, IL and contain the only obvious clue to the design source...a railroad running through the upper right corner.
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Tags: art, design, fence, modern, gate, iron work, metal, steel

A Love Story: Narrative Fence in Steel, Glass, Copper and Brass

Acrobat Fence, 2002 Steel, Durock, porcelain, paint. 48" H x 120" W x 2" D Commission.
Having seen pictures of my Acrobat Fence, my friends Howie and JoAnn approached me to design four sections of fence to enclose a round garden at their Evanston, Illinois residence. Together, they scripted a narrative telling the story of their lives together in four acts: meeting and falling in love; traveling Asia; their first child, Gabriel; and their second child, Julian. This project is a  great example of artist/client collaboration. Through coversations and stories JoAnn told me, I was able to get a good feel for the personality and expression of each member of the family. Gabriel loves snakes, so in his panel, the family goes for a ride on a snake. Julian is really into math, so I portrayed him juggling numbers while the rest of the family plays or looks on. Each character is portrayed  using a different color glass: Howie is blue, JoAnn is green, Gabriel is red and Julian, yellow. The inside of the fence was done in copper instead of mosaic to keep the widths of the heads proportionate. This constraint actually turned out to be a good thing, because Howie prefers the copper and JoAnn loves the glass mosaic.
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Tags: art, design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard

Scrap Iron Fence 2208 S. Halsted Chicago, IL

Scrap Fence,  2208 S. Halsted, 2002 steel, cast iron. 83" H x 284" W x 6" D Collaboration with Kenneth Morrison Commission. A collaboration with kenneth Morrison. He originated the concept and sketched a rough layout for overall project. I designed and fabricated indivdual panels. The choice of which panels went together was his. It was a little like an enormous steel version of the exquisite corpse game played by the Surrealists...in which players take turns adding to a drawing without seeing the parts drawn by the last player.
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Tags: art, design, fence, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, outdoor, recycled, steel, yard

Steel + Mosaic Fence with Tumbling Acrobats

Acrobat Fence, 2002 steel, Durock, porcelain, paint. 48" H x 120" W x 2" D Commission
These graceful figures suggest both the motion of their dance and the music that moves them. The obvious joy of the figures is engaging— but their simplicity is what really captivates us. We can easily see ourselves, someone we know, or the person we might like to be in this dance. The simplicity of these figures allows them to fit nearly any story or culture. Equally flexible, the materials are suitable for creating functional work such as fences, railings and furniture or more decorative projects such as relief murals. Check out the wonderful garden fence I made for Howard Hast & JoAnne Olsen— telling the story of their life together through a series of figures. If you're interested in commissioning a unique piece to express your own story or ideas, please contact me.
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Tags: art, design, fence, fun, funky, garden, gate, iron work, metal, steel, yard