1970s Brutalist Welded Steel Sculpture George Kafka Chicago Modernist Artist

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George Kafka
1970s Brutalist Welded Steel Sculpture George Kafka Chicago Modernist Artist
1971

About the Item

George Kafka, 1924-1998 had no formal art training. The oldest of five children, he went to work to support his family after his father died. He never completed high school. He started welding in 1938 when he was a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps. He constructed ornamental railings and mailbox holders. After World War II, he was trained as a welder at U.S. Steel Co. In his spare time, he made metal miniature animals. Kafka worked in brass, aluminum, stainless steel, copper and titanium, as well as precious metals such as platinum, gold, and silver. Like many skilled Depression-era workers he found employment in the late 1930s as a member of the Civilian Conservation Corps, where he learned to weld. During a career spent as a welder at U.S. Steel, Ford Aircraft and Argonne National Laboratories, Kafka began to create artwork in his spare time. These are not cast, like bronze sculpture but torch cut and welded like Silas Seandel and Curtis Jere. His work is reminiscent of works by Ibram Lassaw and Harry Bertoia, there is an abstract expressionist quality to his work. New techniques learned on the job, such as heliarc welding — which allows for the bonding together of two extremely hard metals — translated into a wider range of methods for making art. In an interview with the Chicago Tribune during the mid-1980s, just after he created the sculptures in this exhibition, Kafka explained the synchronicity of his day job and his avocation: “What I learned at work helped in my art. What I learned from my art helped me at work.” He won first place in sculpting at the Burton Place Art Show He exhibited in three juried shows a year: the Gold Coast, the Park Forest and the Northern Indiana Art Association show in Munster. His works cost up to $13,000. Companies such as Borg-Warner Corp., Zenith Radio Corp., Rockwell International and Acme Die Casting Co. have collected his works. Kafka has two kinetic sculptures in the Padnos Collection consisting of an arc and base made entirely from welded stainless steel cubes. The Grande Prairie Library has displayed his metal sculptures since it opened in 1982.

Creator:
George Kafka (1921 - 1998)
Creation Year:
1971
Dimensions:
Height: 4 in (10.16 cm)Width: 7.5 in (19.05 cm)Depth: 5 in (12.7 cm)
Medium:
Steel
Movement & Style:
Abstract
Period:
1970-1979
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Surfside, FL
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU3823796871