Atticus Adams is a sculptor whose work embodies the transformative power of art to create beauty, meaning, and emotional impact from industrial materials. Using mostly aluminum mesh—generally found in screen doors/windows and filters—he creates abstract pieces and installations, which sometimes resemble flowers, clouds, and other natural phenomena.

Atticus works spontaneously, feeling his way toward the objects that take shape in his mind as he shapes them almost entirely by hand. He occasionally adds color and texture to his work by applying paint or other media. “Metal mesh is a beautiful, flexible material that allows you to explore shadow and transparency in endless ways,” he says. “The material lends itself to these biomorphic shapes, which aren’t necessarily intentional. The sculptures seem fragile but are actually quite resilient—like nature itself,” he says.

Recycling—as a practice and a concept—is essential to Atticus’s work. He often uses old industrial, architectural materials to create his art. Also, he reuses his own work, turning old installations into new artworks. Transformation, of course, is at the heart of all recycling: turning one thing into another; and in his art specifically, making something functional into something aesthetic; turning rough material into gentle forms.