Made in the artist’s studio in Buffalo, New York, Spector was first exhibited during the Third International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art held at Grounds For Sculpture in April of 1998.  The work is now part of the collection on view at Grounds For Sculpture.  The irregular form tapers upward from a block-like base, then becomes rounder and fuller, a composition that plays with the viewer’s perception of the work.  This illusion of floating upward, like a drifting puff of smoke, suggests a sculpture that is flowing and light, when in actuality it is made from a heavy, dense metal.  Left in its natural state, the iron has rusted to form a velvety, rich orange-brown finish.  Spector was made from cast iron using the lost wax technique.

Additionally, Payne’s piece, entitled Heart Shadow, is part of Grounds For Sculpture’s public sculpture program, Sculpture Along the Way.  The title refers to the dark area on one side of the organic, bulbous sculpture.  Payne likes to combine different metals in his casting techniques, as realized in this work.  The base area is made from cast iron whereas copper and brass were used to form the upper portion.  Outokumpu American Brass generously supported the making of Heart Shadow, which was shown at Pier Walk ’99 in Chicago.

Payne is also a teacher, and has been at Buffalo State College since 1990. He was co-director of the Third International Conference on Contemporary Cast Iron Art and has served on many panels at sculpture-related conferences and symposia.  In recent years, this artist has exhibited his sculptures at Ramapo College in Mahwah, NJ; the Burchfield Art Center in Buffalo, NY; the New York State Museum in Albany; the Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Rochester, NY; and other museums and galleries.  A one-person show was given to Payne by East Carolina University in Greenville, NC in 1995.  He is represented in collections in the United States and abroad, including Griffith Muveszet Malom, Szentendre, Hungary; Pedvale Sculpture Park, Pedvale, Latvia; and Tallinn Institute of Art, Tallinn, Estonia.

Other works by Kenneth Payne on view as part of Grounds For Sculpture's Sculpture Along the Way:

Heart Shadow, 1999
cast iron, copper, brass
168” x 60” x 60”
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.

Spector, 1997
cast iron
54" x 16" x 9"
Courtesy of The Sculpture Foundation, Inc.
Gift of the Artist
Photo: Malgorzata Mosiek