Lines of Force Opening, SASA Gallery, Adelaide, South Australia

May 4th, 2023

On Thursday, May 4th my PhD exhibition, Lines of Force, opened at the SASA Gallery, Kaurna Building, in Adelaide, South Australia. The following words are reproduced here courtesy of the opening speaker, Adelaide-based artist, Peta Kruger.

“I remember once having a discussion with Christian about his practice when he was the Creative Director in the Metal Design Studio at the JamFactory, and I was an Associate. He said that thinking about metal construction in 3d can be overwhelming, but if he approached metalwork in terms of folding and joining 2d sheet metal together then the task was not only more manageable but also, the possibilities became endless.

Christian’s idea did not generate from a textbook, and it wasn’t passed to him through training. It was a thought that occurred to him while he was making objects with metal. Without the making, the thought may never have occurred. And it is these types of insights that I think we both value and relish. It is why we find craft so engaging and so rewarding.

If materials are pushed too far they break. It takes great patience, curiosity and care over many years, decades in fact, to make objects in metal with the precision and beauty of those presented here tonight.

There are clues in each artwork that allude to different aspects of Christian’s research; his shed, machinery, tools and his materials, remote places of wilderness in South Australia and thoughts that occurred to him as he travelled.

I had a chance to preview the work last week at Christian and Claudine’s home, and I couldn’t resist approaching each piece like a child pointing out shapes in a cloud formation. Things like: there’s a tree! wow it’s like water! and look, there’s a mattress! Christian was perhaps being polite but he excitedly agreed.

This body of work and Christian’s practice is generous in this way. You feel welcome to engage and you are encouraged to feel delight. Familiar forms are like entry points that draw you in and once you linger, a more complex story unfolds as you discover connections between each piece.

In these works, the boundaries between inside and outside are blurred. Every surface is exposed for us to see, there is nowhere to hide an error. Anyone who has ever tried to shape metal before can appreciate how difficult the material can be. I challenge you to find any tool marks in Christian’s work. All of his collections seemingly float, glide or glow. The various ways he transforms metal is always exquisite.

The typically unruly process of rust has been observed, carefully planned for and accommodated. Each piece made ahead of time to allow the metal a period where it can interact with the atmosphere in his garden. The place where he makes his work, his home and shed, have literally seeped into these artworks before they were transported to the gallery.

For an artist who is always inquiring, always tinkering, an opportunity to sit satisfied with his work is rare. So, I suggest that while these pieces remain suspended in space for us to consider and enjoy, it is the perfect time for Christian to pause in this moment of his process so we can congratulate him on this extraordinary body of work.”

Peta Kruger, May 2023