AN IRON LOVE
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That's exactly what happened.
It was after a decade in the blacksmith's workshop that I noticed you,
that I wanted to be alone with you.
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For us I carved out a space,
me, you, an anvil and a hammer.
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For you I struggled, sweated and sometimes even cursed.
With you I spent the nights.
To you I confided my anxieties and my fears, my joys and my frailties.
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You know my soul and I know yours.
You listen to me in silence, without judging.
You allow my emotions to flow freely until shaping you,
expression of the deepest part of me that only you know.
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That's why, when I want an absolute intimacy,
in your eternal silence I seek refuge.
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BIOGRAPHY
Andrea Borga was born in 1985 in Trento.
He is an Italian artist who lives and works in Coredo, a small tourist village in the Dolomites of northern
Italy.
Self-taught metal sculptor, he begins working at the age of 17 in the metalworking sector with local
artisans, where he learns and deepens various working techniques such as forging, burnishing and welding.
However, it is in the intimacy of his workshop that he begins to approach sculpture and to seek his own
artistic identity. Here he gives life to his first works inspired by natural subjects sought after in his
mountains.
The experiences in the United States, France and Switzerland lead him to explore new approaches related
to the study of the human form.
His sculptures are mainly made of iron, stainless steel or corten steel, with the juxtaposition of other
natural materials or concrete.
The finish of the material takes place through chemical or physical processes, without the use of paints, so
that the aesthetic integrity of the material itself remains.
artist statement
Metalworking has accompanied man since the dawn of time. A tradition that was born and developed from ancestral knowledge that has been handed down, for centuries, from generation to generation. The craftsman is the one who creates by forging, shaping, and beating matter, a metal professional who puts his technical skill at the service of the community. The debate around the role of the "faber" and the artist within society has arisen cyclically over the centuries. A blurred boundary divides them, mainly due to intent: on one side is pure technique, on the other is the originality and creativity of the artist.
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I like to define myself as the fusion of these two figures. A blacksmith by training, my passion for metal has led me to continue investigating this material. Despite having experienced and experimented with it in multiple ways over the years, it continues to amaze me.
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This implies that when I approach metal I begin a real dialogue with it, in which the material itself is an active part and therefore responsible for the result. So the dialogue, the process of making the work, is as important to me as the final product. Because like any conversation, although we may have knowledge of the subject matter and the tools to be able to argue, there is always one part that remains out of our total control, which is the response of the other person. And it is precisely this response that can lead to rethinking, to changes of direction as the work progresses. My initial idea inevitably shapes itself to the test of the material.
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The result will then be the responsibility of both parties, artist and material. This is what fascinates me: the realization that no matter how much I may know about a material, I never have full control over it. And no matter how much I try to impose a will of my own, the material has and continues to have its own life and autonomy, which can sometimes become resistance. Metal can be beaten, stretched, melted, broken, even eroded. And although I know the techniques, it is never possible for me to know a priori what the final result will be.
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Although conveyed by a form, it is therefore the material that is the real protagonist and driving force behind my research. A living matter that creates and recreates my world, showing me in all its potentialities and, often, contradictions.