Curt Pieper
At an early age, Curt’s mother introduced him to the world of art and his interest and abilities grew rapidly. He used several materials but his favorites were pencil, pastels, and glass. As an adult, Curt’s entire working life has been an education in concretes so it seemed like a natural progression for him to move from his family’s conventional business of concrete to explore his artistic passion, with concrete as his medium.
His journey began by designing functional pieces, finding that concrete could become a highly refined and elegant material. His resulting creations seemed to fall somewhere between art and design. His desire pushed him even further and led him to nonfunctional art. His works progressed to where raw meets refined. This natural and organic look of the raw concrete has inspired him to explore new techniques, combining steel, concrete, and even recycled construction materials.
Curt would tell you, “Concrete is a unique medium with which to work. I manipulate it to a certain point and then I step back and allow the concrete to be true to its own nature. The medium itself contributes another distinct element to my pieces, entirely of its own characteristics. The ideas are mine, the concrete reflects its impression of my ideas, and I refine the impression. It’s a dance of design with concrete.”