Is metalwork considered an art or a craft? Jon Michael Route exquisitely and carefully melds elements of each in the exhibition "Jon Michael Route: For the Love of Metal," showing at the Villa Terrace Decorative Arts Museum through Aug. 23.
A small retrospective of Route's metalwork fills the glass cases in the museum's second-level gallery. The work includes decorative boxes, candlestick holders, goblets, sculptures, jewelry and Route's cherished teapots. He imbues these objects with distinctive personalities inspired by figurative or architectural forms that Route fabricates in brass, copper and pewter with great artistry.
Often Route's artwork expresses a sense of wit, the metalwork appearing to whisper a humorous story to the observer, as if the piece may step out of the case to speak.
In his King Box II from 2008, Route uses three metals incised with various textures to fashion the tiny 6-by-3-by-3-inch box. A face in a full moon embedded in the square head, adorned with a miniature crown, stares from the center of the box's handlethe King apparently bemused by the uncertainties found in the present moment and throughout life.
A 2009 work, Smokestack Teapot, playfully tilts to one side with small, curved flames appearing to steam from the top. At the base of this tall, narrow vessel, the miniscule stokehole with an elegantly crafted open door waits to be filled and fired. These unsightly chimneys are usually considered a dirty, dingy necessity of contemporary manufacturing, but Route elevates them to a luminous curiosity.
Of late, Route has created metal wall sculptures that relate his interest in nature, including Bird and Arch and Lilac Landscape. Constructed with color washed sheets of brass, bronze, copper and pewter, these works portray Route's exceptional craftsmanship with a decorative postmodern style.
Stay on top of the news of the day
Subscribe to our free, daily e-newsletter to get Milwaukee's latest local news, restaurants, music, arts and entertainment and events delivered right to your inbox every weekday, plus a bonus Week in Review email on Saturdays.
"For the Love of Metal" presents an artist with a passion for living and engaging the viewer. Route's unique vessels merge traditional methods of metalworking with creative integrity. His commitment to his work honors the aesthetic and the industrial, the romantic and the mundane, the ethereal and the utilitarian. Route encourages all who view his artwork to also see the magical possibilities intrinsic to each new day.
