Gina Michaels’ practice integrates the ancient tradition of cast bronze with the contemporary open forms of fabricated metal sculpture. Working with bronze directly, she liberates it from the dutiful role of replicating forms made in other materials. The process begins in a sandbox, in a spirit of meditation and play. Hands, arms, and feet press into casting sand, imprinting the expressive energy of the body into the mold. She then ladles molten bronze into the hollows created by the body. Using a spontaneous, collage-like vocabulary, the cast elements are welded together, creating human/plant hybrids that are at once animal, vegetable and mineral.

Gina Michaels’ work has been shown in numerous solo, group and public art exhibitions in galleries, museums and public spaces nationally, including New York, Philadelphia, and Palm Springs. Gina is a graduate of Oberlin College, and received her MFA from the University of Pennsylvania. She also studied intensively at the New York Studio School. Gina is the owner and director of Legacy Atelier in Philadelphia, a fully woman-owned foundry, metal fabrication and sculpture studio serving artists and the conservation/preservation community.