You know immediately when you’ve seen a Kelton Grayson sculpture. For the work captures your attention and holds you present, removing the need to be anywhere else but right there with it. And when you invest in a piece, the moment can be entered into again and again with a look, a thought, a discussion about the piece, returning you once again to mindfulness. Because when you become mindful, who you are connects to unlimited possibilities.
That’s the power of transformative art.
When you walk past the bubbling hexagonal rimmed Three Rivers Fountain in Victoria Square, the history-rich feature exudes beauty while functioning as the walkway and park in the centre of Adelaide; its form follows function, unlike traditional works of art which have no function.
The beauty in art comes from its lack of function, leaving only: respect and reverence for the piece brought to life by an artist who uses a specific process, the result making you feel something. And the form is merely the vessel in which the art takes shape, such as an oil painting on canvas, charcoal drawing on paper, photo collage of the botanical gardens, or perhaps even metal sculpture that combines different materials and contrasts textures like the works of Kelton Grayson.
And when you rest in that beauty, function no longer matters because the work provokes a change in you akin to meditation but without the effort. For you see in every Kelton Grayson sculpture the before and after, the preparation, concentration and discipline required to bring each piece to life, with every single aspect of its journey considered and shared; the journey awakening and aligning your own thought processes of how you came to be in this moment and what you might do if you take this gift of who you are—your skills, experiences and potential for mastery—and self-actualize.
Whether it’s the sculpture, the video diary or a print, every piece offers space and time to look inward and discover unknown possibilities, all you have to do is be.
“When I saw the reactions of people who viewed my work, I discovered the power of my sculptures, videos and prints, for when viewed, especially in person, they unmask the viewer so they can just be. Because art evokes something different in all of us, its story helps us tell our own story. And when its only purpose for existence is to be revered, the moment in which you gaze upon it and find what was lost, forgotten or neglected in your story is saved, remembered and becomes sacred; so too the time in which this happens.
This made me realise that because I can see and understand the power of my work, and because I also have the skills and ability to make these sculptures, I also have, dare I say it, the responsibility to make artworks that evoke the unmasking of the viewer. Anything less wouldn’t serve the people who need art in their life to help tell the story of who they are.” —Kelton Grayson
It’s the merge of engineering and authentic essence that enables this Adelaide artist to hand make every element of every piece, folding in the form the values that shaped his being that reflects in the connection and presence of each work of art:
Respect the Material—The origin of each material needed time to be: the wood from a tree that took fifteen years to grow; the metal from ore that needed human engineering and expertise to become usable; with every creation make something that lasts in a form that gives another life to the material used. For anything less wouldn’t respect the origin of the material.
Honour History—Every person’s life is short when compared to the history of mankind, yet each lives alongside people and things that came before and others that will live beyond. But each has history, a story to tell and wisdom to impart that’s not bound by time. It might be a building, a tool, a place, an event or a neighbour; each has value. The responsibility of each person should then to be the conduit of history, their own and all others that share a timeline, so that they’re not forgotten or neglected but carried forward to live multiple lives while enriching what exists around them.
Know Yourself and Make Something—When you can connect with who you are in silence and solitude, then create from that space works in your own mastery, authentic innovation is the result. For the uniqueness of each person means that every act to save, fix, restore, make functional again an object or thing is as powerful as making something new because you’ve re-awaken or brought to life something that couldn’t exist without you but now does because of you. It’s a reflection of who you are.
Kelton Grayson sculptures are made here in Adelaide, with nothing outsourced. The art studio was built from a converted Victorian Coach House to house and film the entire process from thought to completion, from sketches to casting, from planning to preparation and production of each work of art. The time given to each work ensures uncompromising quality and guarantees presence for every viewer, the result of this master metal sculptor who makes art to help tell the story of who each person truly is.
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