For this week’s Amplify artist, I want to feature good friend Brian Kirk.
I had the pleasure of working with Brian for 9 years when we were both art teachers at Stone Bridge High School in Ashburn, Virginia, which means that I have come to know him as a close friend and as an incredible artist.
Brian grew up in the D.C. metro area and now calls Purcellville, VA home. He was always interested in art, and though he is mainly a sculptor working in stone and metal, being a public school art teacher for many years has given him the chance to dabble in everything from encaustic and ceramics to painting and glass casting.
Brian loves to be outside and finds inspiration for much of his work in nature, especially for his stone carving and copper sculptures, but it sneaks its way into his other work as well from floral and leaf motifs to shapes and forms reminiscent of shells and insects. Besides copper and stone carving, Brian works with welded steel, often combining cast off and found pieces of steel. But other times he purposefully bends rods of steel and creates specific shapes and forms to fashion his work.
Brian works in a variety if scales — everything from small, table top pieces and wall assemblages to large outdoor, steel sculptures and everything in between. No matter the size of the piece, he always considers the surface of his work giving his works a patinated or oxidized look or using bright colors of enamel paint for extra pop.
Brian once discovered the interesting effect of wet steel rusting on a cardboard box, and began to purposefully use rusting steel plates and scraps of steel to create one of a kind rust prints on heavy archival paper or Belgian linen . Though he may use the same plates and pieces over and over again, the unpredictable nature of the oxidation process always leads to one of a kind results. Often times, these prints stand alone as resolved works to be framed and hung on the wall, but with some, Brian has manipulates them in some way. Sometimes he has adds paint or indigo dye to them, and other times, he combines them with objects, metal scraps, and pieces of wood to create sculptural assemblages.
Along with making art, Brian has always shared his passion for creating by teaching others. He spent many years as an art teacher in Loudoun County Public Schools and is recently retired. He also taught several classes at the college level for Northern Virginia Community College, Shepherd University, Virginia Commonwealth University, and George Mason University, and he still teaches a Monday night metal sculpture class for the Art League School in Alexandria, VA.
Brian is always brimming with ideas. He’s passionate about so many different types of art, and he always has so many different things that he is exploring in his studio. It has been such a pleasure to work with him, learn from him, and just hang out with him.
I hope you enjoy Brian’s work as much as I do!
Find out more about Brian and his work online.
Website: www.briankirkstudios.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/brian.kirk.1840
Instagram: www.instagram.com/briankirk5707