Meet Steel Yard Resident Artist Traé Brooks - Inside Art with Michael Rose

Meet Steel Yard Resident Artist Traé Brooks - Inside Art with Michael Rose

The Steel Yard in Providence is a center for those who weld and blacksmith or who create jewelry and ceramics. Resident Artist Traé Brooks, who just began a second year at the space, is a maker attuned to metal. With it, he creates sculptures, jewelry, and mixed-media works that sensitively share personal stories and show off his considerable craftsmanship.

 

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Raised in Connecticut, Brooks earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Hartford. Active in his home state, he was an Artist-in-Residence at the Farmington Valley Arts Center and a Cohort Program Member at MakerspaceCT as well as Chairman of the Curatorial Committee at the Windsor Arts Center. He relocated to Providence for The Steel Yard, one of the region’s most unique arts centers, and his time in Rhode Island has been fruitful.

 

 

Outlining what his residency has meant to him and what he has taken away from it so far, Brooks says, “It has meant everything to me. While I still have my community back home in Connecticut, I have been really cherishing a lot of the new connections I have been making here in Providence. Between staff and my fellow residents and other artists I have encountered here and there, everyone has been incredibly supportive and have been so welcoming when I started my first-year residency. The key takeaways I have gotten from my time spent here at The Steel Yard are that community is crucial to be an artist, you never know what kind of connections you can make that will benefit you later on down the line; always be willing to operate outside of your comfort zone because that’s where you truly grow as an artist and individual, and no matter what, always continue creating work.”

 

At The Steel Yard, this sculptor bends found metal and welds sharp forms together with the aim to create figurative sculptures. In the organization’s Summer Residents Exhibition at The Wurks Gallery, Brooks’ contributions were inventive metal masks and mixed-media sculptures that stood out. On November 2, The Steel Yard will host its annual Iron Pour and Sims Avenue Festival, which will invite locals to see what happens at the space where Brooks makes this compelling work.

 

 

Brooks was trained as a painter, and his artwork does not just utilize metal. Asked about the interplay between works in two and three dimensions, he says, “Originally, I studied painting at art school, so the bulk of my training and experience was primarily 2D focused. Once I transitioned from undergrad, I began to explore different mediums which was when I first discovered welding at MakerspaceCT. So with that said, I tend to approach my 3D work the same way as I approach a painting or a drawing. With my 2D work, it’s very fast and loose; stream-of-consciousness fluid motions. And with welded sculpture, it’s the same principles; assembling things together, cutting things apart, sometimes swift and fast motions and other times going back and adding the finer details. It’s all intuitive. It’s like I’m sketching with metal.”

 

Brooks has a facile way with hard media. He wields a torch like other artists might utilize a pen or a brush and slowly but surely forms come to life. On a table in his studio, a pair of legs emerge from a collection of steel plates and metal spindles.

 

 

Asked about what he hopes viewers take away from his work, Brooks answers, “The key themes in my work mainly pertain to my friends, family, sense of longing, and preserving personal histories. Much of the focus in my art is about my relationships with others, and the bonds we share; which is why I usually create portraits and work with the figure specifically. It's my attempt at trying to capture the essence of who they are to me. Spirituality is something that has also been coming up a lot in my work recently. That’s mainly due to my upbringing (I was raised Catholic). So, I’ve been making memorial pieces for people who have passed in my life; again as a way to stay connected, to preserve their history. I hope that when people view my work, they feel what I’m feeling when creating: immense joy, immense sorrow, longing, hoping, discovery, excitement, and everything in between.”

 

 

Traé Brooks is an artist on the rise whose sculptural acumen is laudable. He has found a creative home at The Steel Yard and is making art that deserves praise and attention. Locals will have the opportunity to see more of his work in future Resident Artist Exhibitions, and he is also preparing for a solo show in Hartford that is coming in 2025.

 

 

Learn more about Traé Brooks at his website www.traebrooksart.com or follow him on Instagram at @traesart.