Location: United States
Jim Adams
Jim Adams took up artistry in iron and steel after 24 years in the information technologies field. Prior to his years in IT, he had worked in the welding industry, selling specialty welding items for approximately 8 years. During that time developed the skill and knowledge of working with metals. His desire to do artful things with this knowledge was something of a ‘back burner’ interest that never seemed to go away.
In mid 2007, Jim decided to pursue the creation of artful things from iron and steel. The company ADAMS-FERRO Inc was set up to create and make available to the public objects of art in iron and steel. Practically all of the works are created from ‘rescued’ objects – scrap metal destined for the melting pots. Shapes and qualities of these various pieces of scrap become the inspiration for the works. Jim’s approach is to find and create beauty or thought provoking aspects from the many times unique characteristics of the items he finds – a piece of rippled metal becomes a wave, a large industrial gear becomes a flower blossom – and with a minimum of addition or cutting away, he brings that quality into the work.
The works created are diverse in themes, from surreal steel flowers, to representation of aspects of humanity, to thought provoking abstracts. The work is minimalist in construction; its nature is raw and powerful.
Most of these works are solid and substantial and can be displayed outdoors as well as indoors. Weathering only adds to the rich coffee colored patina the works possess. Some of the works can become a focus point in a garden. Much of the works want to sit on a pedestal and be an exclusive center of attention.
Gallery exhibition, past and present:
M2 Gallery - Houston, TX
H Gallery – Houston, TX
KAXM Gallery – Houston, TX
Sculpture By Design – Houston, TX.
The Late Show Gallery – Kansas City, MO
Buttonwood Art Space / Buttonwood Financial Group – Kansas City, MO.
Gates Fine Art Gallery – Rosenberg, TX. Work currently exhibited
The Archway Gallery – Houston, TX. Work currently exhibited
Dunklin Street Gallery, Jefferson City, MO. Work currently Exhibited.
Landmark National Bank, Lawrence, KS. Work currently exhibited.
Strecker-Nelson Gallery, Manhattan, KS. Work currently exhibited.
Continuum Gallery. Seattle, WA. Work currently exhibited.
Affaire d’art, Galveston, TX. Work currently exhibited.
Canvas Gallery, Springfield, MO. Work currently exhibited.
Perlow- Stevens Gallery, Columbia, MO. Work to be exhibited in their Spring 2012 show.
Solo/featured artist shows:
“Iron and Steel” - Rosenberg RR Museum June 10 through Aug 15 2008.
“Not Bound by Frames” – H Gallery, Houston – March 21, 2009
“Another Life” – Tremont Hotel, Galveston, TX – May 29, 2010
“Ferro” – Miller Center for the Performing Arts / Railton Gallery, Jefferson City, MO – December 2010.
‘From the Scrap Pile’ – Missouri State Museum / Rozier Gallery, Jefferson City, MO – March 1 through May 28, 2011.
‘Visions’ – The Archway Gallery, Houston, TX - June 4 through June 30, 2011.
‘Warriors’ – Sculptures by Design, Houston, TX – Oct 4, 2012 through Jan 19, 2012.
‘Fleur de Mal’ - The Writers Place, Kansas City, MO - Nov 28, 2011 through Jan 16, 2012 .
‘People in Wood and Steel’ - a collaborative exhibition of works by Ron Collins and Jim Adams - JoMar Visions Gallery in Houston, TX - Dec 9, 2011.
Juried Shows:
Texas Metal Arts Festival – September 12 & 13, 2009
Artists Alive and Well ‘Winter Solstice’ Show – December 7, 2009 through January 8, 2010. Houston, TX.
Artists Alive and Well ‘Spirit of Spring’ Show – March 7, 2010 through March 28, 2010. Houston, TX
Artists Alive and Well ‘Summerview’ Exhibition - July 19, 2010 through August 20, 2010. Houston, TX
Artist Alive and Well ‘Red Hot Artists’ Show – Sept 1, 2010 through September 30, 2010. Houston, TX
Artists Alive and Well ‘N Sight’ - May 15 through June 14, 2011. Show is in the Continental Building in Houston, TX .
Visual Arts Alliance ‘29th Juried Membership Exhibition’ – November 11 through December 17, 2011. Houston, TX.
Visual Arts Alliance ‘29th Juried Open Exhibition’ – May 11, 2012 through June 30, 2012. Houston, TX.
Museum Exhibition:
Houston Art Cars Museum
Rosenberg Railroad Museum
Missouri State Museum / Rozier Gallery, Jefferson City, MO - March through May, 2011.
Public Exhibition:
Houston City Hall - May 5, 2011 through Jan 12, 2012.
Houston City Hall – May 4, 2012 through May 25, 2012.
2121 Central St., Kansas City, MO – permanent outdoor placement.
Contact Information:
Website: – www.ADAMS-FERRO.COM
Email: Jim.Adams@ADAMS-FERRO.COM
This is a series where the features of whatever delightful piece of scrapped machinery I chose became the direction for the work. Most of these pieces are minimalist and fairly compact. I've been very fortunate with this series.
This piece is created from valve floats saved during the deconstruction of a sugar plant.
Created from RR track clips. This is an exercise in being able to take something which is fairly mundane and ( if one has many of such items ) bring out something interesting. This piece is now in a private collection in Manhattan, KS
This piece is created from a worn butterfly valve from a cement conveying system.
Created from a part of an drill rig blow out preventer. I was allowed to rescue some items from a badly burned up drill rig. As soon as I saw this piece I was seized by the thought of a Polynesian diety.
Created from a worn butterfly valve from a pneumatic conveying system for powdered cement.
This piece created from the barrel of a worn out jack hammer.
This little table created from a manhole cover. Some cities have their own logo's / identifiers cast into the manhole covers. This table is created from a manhole cover for the City of Sugar Land, TX. Cast into the table top is the Star of Texas superimposed around the Imperial Sugar crown.
Created from an old air compressor tank.
Created from an industrial nozzle of some sort ( ductile iron ) and various odd pieces of steel.
Created from various odd nuts, bolts, and washers from RR track scrap.
Created from RR track scrap - bolts used on track splices.
Created from a fairly large pinion gear. My vision is a chunk of tree root - the last to rot away from a tree's stump.
Is an explanation necessary here?
or maybe, " a worm's view of the apocalypse" .
Blips of humanity here.
Gary Larson hit me hard. The chunk of tire tread set the voices loose on this one.
The 'mug' is the barrel of an industrial vibrator - used to shake powders out of rail cars. The steel people are created from miniature RR spikes.
I was given the little round piece by a gentleman who has a machine shop, not certain of what it was originally. I saw a circular bench like one would find in a park. The steel people are created from miniature RR spikes.
Created with something of a utilitarian character. The vertical member is positioned at the edge of the base. Can we imply 'bookend' without suggesting functionality. The piece was pretty green when this image was taken. .
A collaborative piece with Liz Conces Spencer. This piece was created for the Houston Area Women's Shelter. This is one of the few cases where gender had to be defined - something of a challenge.
Created from a small refrigerant pump and standard RR spikes.
Created from the crankshaft from a small air compressor and standard RR spikes.
What else can you do with a meat grinder. Fun and whimsy. Steel people are created from miniature RR spikes.
Personal pain and catharsis in this one.
Created from standard RR spikes.
“Soliloquy”
“Bubbles”
“Acceleration ”
“Asymmetrical Sunrise”
“Kahuna”
“Worn Valve in Profile”
“Vortex”
“Untitled 21”
“Ferrous Starburst”
“Siblings”
“Radar Love”
“Sisters”
“Chalice”
“Union”
“Untitled 11”
“Steel Forms 1”
“Curiosity”
“Abombination 1”
“Helter Skelter”
“Eclipse”
“Diminishing Returns ”
“Arch”
“Brass Mortality”
“Denouement ”
“Rising / Sinking? ”
“Untitled 17”
“Wishful Thinking ”
“Supplication ”
“Spawn”
“The Mold Broke ”
“Rust and Memories”
“Dripping Faucet ”
“Boil Over”
“c6”
“Disk and Balls”
“Dream Time 1”
“Duet”
“Emerald City”
“Engagement ”
“Introspection ”
“Life Today”
“Marble City”
“Missing Quadrants 1”
“Nomads”
“Ravaged ”
“Off Kilter”
“Pipe Dreams 1”
“Solo”
“Stain”
“Tapered Rings 1 & 2”
“Pointed Path”
“OMG”
“Tango”
“The Old Soldier ”
“Wine for Two”
“Stork ”
“Reeds”
“Pie”
“Slice of Pie”
“Stainless Serenity”
“Non Specific Critter”
“Meat Grinder”
“Escape”
“Iron Butterfly”
“Grinding Disk Work ”
“Corkscrew”
“Brandy Sniffer”
“Bull Bugs”
“Beast”
“Manhole Cover Table”
“Flotsam”
“Disk Flowers With Paint”
“Cut Flowers”
“Miscellaneous Hardware”
“After the Rain - Mushrooms”
“Pacific Northwest”
“Tetanus ”
“Untitled 9”
“A Space Odessy ”
“Concept of Tread ”
“Do We See Each Other Yet”
“Friends”
“Happy ”
“Passage ”
“Man and Machine 1”
“Man and Machine 2”
“Meat Grinder ”
“Loss and Memory ”
“Men at Work ”
