Artist Profile Laura Teste

Artist Statement

Both the left and right side of my brain fire up to meet my creative urges through bronze. I ride high on artistic thermals and dive deep into technical vortexes. My personal language of movement and poise unveils the beauty of private moments. I cast personal moments. My lithesome figures and billowing drapery capture flashes of weightlessness and poise by pushing the limits of traditional lost wax bronze casting.

Lost wax bronze casting is truly a blend of art and engineering. I begin by exploring three dimensional compositions working with clay, armatures, and cloth. Using Chavant Le Beau Touché oil-based clay, I sculpt the initial pieces. To transform a clay to a finished bronze, close collaboration with a team of foundry artisans is vital over months. We create multi-piece molds from my clay, a wax model from molds, silica molds from my wax model, and a bronze from silica molds. With my bronze figures’ long thin limbs and deeply pocketed drapery cooling at different rates, my sculptures stretch the techniques of casting. A final dose of chemistry is used in applying patinas. I favor a base of liver sulfate followed by a ferric nitrate patina.

My visual style is expressive figuration, focusing on the interaction between the female form, flowing robes or capes, and negative space. Audiences recognize my work through recurring elements such as a well-defined dancer body types and dynamic gestures. I seek beauty in everyday epiphanies. The dominant narrative of my work is how individuals surmount personal challenges. I believe in the “know thyself” attitude. Even when exploring broader themes such as friendship during COVID or the concept of time, I bring a very intimate perspective.

My career includes different phases, such as the solo figures of the Vim & Vigor period (2016-2019) where I melded self-reliance with reflection. Lose Yourself (2017) embodies this chapter with the turbulent pull between the figure and her dress. The sculpted dancer, balanced on point, commands the forces of momentum as a show of self-rule. Vim & Vigor led to several themed triptychs. For instance, Saving Venice I, II, and III (2023-24) are wall-mounted bronze figures with bronze drapery entwined in thick braided rope and accented with glass rings from reclaimed sea floats. They show three different reactions to what is lurking below, be it rising waters or rising tensions.

Artist Biography

Laura Teste, (b. 1968, Ohio) is a contemporary bronze sculptor whose lithesome figures and billowing bronze drapery pay tribute to intimate epiphanies. In her artistic process, Teste challenges herself to achieve a language of movement and poise in a decidedly robust medium. Her degrees in engineering and design from Stanford University in California created the base for her artistic pivot in 2014 to the traditional method of lost wax bronze casting. Her work was selected for solo expositions by the Arthur Secunda Museum (2019) and by the University of Michigan Hospital (2024). Highlights from group exhibitions include six sculptures displayed at the Salon Peintres et Sculpteurs of St. Tropez, France in 2019, a life-size edition of Elyse et le Chat showcased by the Gerald Ford Museum of Michigan 2021, and a winning sculpture broadcasted by Art as Healing Foundation on airport billboards in 2021.