Captivated by geometric forms
- Anja used to work in set design before training as a metalsmith
- She uses traditional techniques and tools to make sculptures
- Modernism, minimalism and architectural lines are central to her work
Anja Hessler makes mobile sculptures and standing sculptures that have a kinetic aspect. She works with metal, often copper, and combines this central element with other materials such as found driftwood. Anja was born and brought up in Germany. She trained as a display artist and window dresser and then came to London to pursue a career in theatre stage design. Having moved to Ramsgate, on the southeast coast of England, with its vibrant community of creatives and artists, she chose to return to hands-on making and studied metalsmithing. Anja has trained with master metalsmiths and silversmiths, including Edward Mahony in Faversham. Life and her environment influence her work, and she lets the form take shape organically as she progresses. Her work is a synthesis of all her previous experiences in creating.
INTERVIEW
Metal is my core material for all my sculptures. I do often mix in other materials and play with textures, whether with acrylic or woods. At the moment, I often use driftwood that I find on the beaches not far from home.
My main inspiration is embedded in modernism, minimalism, and architectural lines. I am really into geometric forms. My work is all about the circle shape, and the triangle, and straight lines. I like to keep things very simple. Aesthetically I like linear elegance.
I have the initial idea and sketch a design on paper. I then start to work with different materials, usually the metal first. But as I am working with it, the work takes on a life of its own because it is such an organic process. I let the textures take over.
I find metal a fantastic material. There is a physicality to shaping and working the metal that really speaks to me. One piece is never going to look exactly like another because it is about the pressure I apply, which could depend on my mood and other external influences.
