Material stories
- Leon van Vive
A sculpture does not have to be bronze, silver or a single colour. Sometimes the strength lies in colour, and in a lot of it. Resin gives us the freedom to combine almost any form with a colour palette entirely your own, from restrained brand colours to an outspoken full colour art object. And because it is cast, the same design can be made as an edition without ceasing to be handwork.
A custom sculpture in resin starts with the design. An existing product, a logo, a mascot, a person or an entirely new idea can be the basis. From that design we make a three-dimensional model, and from the model the moulds in which the sculpture is cast.
Then comes the part that makes this material special. The cast sculptures are finished by hand and then painted. Layer by layer the sculpture gains its character. So we are not bound to one colour or one standard finish: any tint you can name can go on it, matt, satin or high gloss, and on each element separately.
It is the handwork that makes this technique different from what you expect of cast work. Several pieces come from the same mould, but the final look is decided by the finish. Colour fields, gradients, small details, textures and accents are part of the design and are applied to each sculpture.
That is how we combine the repeatability of casting with the craft of painting. The result is a series of sculptures that clearly belong together and yet each has the presence of an art object. For an edition we record the colour scheme as a reference, so that piece one hundred still matches piece one.
With a custom sculpture much of the work sits at the front: the design, the 3D development, a prototype and the production moulds. That work is largely the same whether five, fifty or five hundred sculptures come out of the mould afterwards.
With a small edition that groundwork is spread over a few sculptures, and you see that in the price per piece. From around fifty pieces that ratio changes: the same groundwork spreads across a series, and a fully custom-designed resin sculpture becomes very affordable per piece.
Smaller quantities are possible too, and happen, especially where exclusivity outweighs the price per piece. In every case the design remains yours; we make it for no one else.
A mascot as an award. A colourful anniversary sculpture for every employee, alongside one large piece for the entrance. An art object for a campaign. A numbered series for the clients who belong to a milestone, at gift scale. Or a product at miniature scale, for the company that makes it.
Because form and colour both follow the design, nobody needs to see from the end result how it was made. The finest result is the sculpture that gives no sign it ever came out of a mould.
Do you have an idea, logo, mascot, product or story that makes you think: we really ought to make a sculpture of that? Then it does not start with us asking which existing sculpture fits. It starts with the question of what you want to show. Then we give it form.
Leon van Vive -
What resin is, where it does and does not belong and how it compares with the other materials is on the resin material page. If you want the same design as one sculpture and as an edition, read how that works for an anniversary or milestone.
Resin
An award does not have to be a cup, a trophy or an abstract object. Sometimes the design is already in the brand guidelines. That was the case for Conspect: its own mascot became the basis for a custom award, cast in resin, as an edition and with a gold-coloured finish. Recognisable to anyone who knows the company, and Conspect's alone.
When a dental practice turned 25, the staff wanted to surprise the management with a sculpture that matched their own field. They arrived with a clear brief: a large tooth at the centre, with one person chiselling and another flossing. The material was a deliberate choice too: ceramics is a material used within dentistry.
A bottle of wine, a nice hamper, a good pen: fine gestures, but a few months later they are usually gone. Some moments deserve something that stays. For a larger group of employees, clients or partners, that is one design, made specifically for your organisation and then produced as a series. These are seven moments where that works.
