Mixed Media: Welding Allows Artist to Turn 2D Visions into 3D Reality
Print Article
Miller partners and friends Max Grundy (of Fear Is the New Beauty/Max Grundy Design) and Josh Welton (of Brown Dog Welding) create a mid-century art piece, which Grundy plans to hang in his Riverside, Calif. home. Watch this video for step-by-step instruction, tips and welding techniques and then recreate this same project to display in your home!
Artist and fabricator Max Grundy has been welding the majority of his life. While he is primarily an artist specializing in mixed media, paintings, illustrations and photography, Grundy is also a car guy and has been putting them together since he was a teen. Today he works with multiple shops and industry professionals, but operates primarily out of his new studio located in Riverside, California. Here in this workspace, his visions come to life.
As the owner of
Fear is the New Beauty, Grundy creates what he calls retrofuturistic art, taking themes from a bygone era — the 1940s 50s and 60s — and placing them into post-apocalyptic scenarios. His pieces depict the industrious nature of mankind and our ability to adapt and overcome — with the cars playing a character and acting as the heroine or hero.
“Ninety percent of why people like cars is because of how it makes them feel, and I try to do that in the artwork,” said Grundy. “I try to make people feel something.”
The Specialty Equipment Market Association (SEMA) agrees with his notion, and a few years ago selected Grundy to create the official artwork for the annualSEMA show. His limited edition SEMA prints and other 3-D art renderings are displayed and for sale from his booth in the SEMA ART WALK, where Grundy also showcases his knack for product design and fabrication. In 2014, he had two builds on display: a 1959 Pontiac station wagon and a 1950 COE truck.
Grundy credits his relationship with SEMA — and ability to display his talents at the world’s largest and most premier automotive specialty products tradeshow — for opening several doors and connecting him with industry names like Miller Electric Mfg. Co.
He took the next natural step. Branching off from Fear is the New Beautify is a new, more industrial focused business venture — Max Grundy Design — which provides him the opportunity to construct and actually build the cars featured in his artwork.
"To me, the cars are another art form, said Grundy. “Welding is an essential tool to turn my artistic 2D vision into a 3D reality, and it is a very satisfying experience to transform raw materials into art."
For any fabrication needs, Grundy relies on the
Millermatic® 211 MIG welder,
Diversion™ 180 TIG welder, S
pectrum® 375 X-TREME™ Plasma cutter and a variety of
Arc Armor® welding protection. He believes the Miller welders are natural to use, reliable and efficient.
“I just want to build cool stuff, said Grundy. “We want to make three-dimensional representations of cars that take design as a paramount consideration in the final result.”
Learn more about Max and follow his work at
maxgrundy.com.