Atelier Van Lieshout

Blast Furnace

2013

Steel
1800 x 1000 x 1050 cm

Steel, produced in blast furnaces, was the most important product of the Industrial Revolution, and has laid the foundation of our current wealth. Therefore, Atelier Van Lieshout realized the artwork Blast Furnace. Blast Furnace, a majestic machinery measuring 12 by 24 by 11 meters, seems to grow like an organic organism. The steel monster evokes an image of the archetypical industrial relicts of the early 20th century, which is given a new, utopian meaning by Atelier Van Lieshout. Blast Furnace will be driven by manpower and simple mechanics. Floors and alcoves will be installed in the innards of the machine: a living room, a kitchen, a bedroom. Human activity takes place throughout the entire installation. It is as if the Tribe of the Metalworkers consciously choose to become one with the furnace, and to live amidst the noise, dirt and dust. Instead of wanting to return to Nature, this tribe wants to return to Industry, to raw materials, to simple products, to social cohesion.

Blast Furnace (2013) was part of the following exhibition(s):
‘Blast Furnace’, Art OMI, Ghent (USA), 2019 – 2021
‘The CryptoFuturist and The New Tribal Labyrinth’, Pioneer Works, New York (USA), 2019
‘The Butcher’, La Friche Belle de Mai, Marseille (FR), 2013

For enquiries: please contact Atelier Van Lieshout via info@ateliervanlieshout.com