Aaron DeShields

Aaron Deshields is a sculptor and metal fabricator based out of Detroit, MI. He received an MFA from Wayne State University in Metalsmithing, 2023, and a BFA in Sculpture from Appalachian State University, 2016. He is co-owner of Standard Fabrication & Forge which specializes in architectural and ornamental metalwork, and is the Instructor of Blacksmithing at College for Creative Studies in Detroit. Michigan. He has been an artist in residence at Fortress Studios, Center For Metal Arts, and Touchstone Center for Craft.

"My work is very tactile. It mobilizes many different surfaces and textures utilizing a variety of sculptural techniques. Through these material explorations, I construct forms that emulate infrastructure, architecture, and sacred spaces. There are many layers of transformation that occur within these objects, and they often go through multiple phase changes. They are heated, melted, bent, formed - all processes that take inspiration from the geologic processes of the earth. Even as the works develop into elaborate or otherworldly forms, they are always rooted in the earthen and elemental nature of materiality. The objects are created with the intention of navigation and often serve as models for larger ambitions. They are prototypes and vessels of research and material curiosities."