In Welded Drawings, Marieken Cochius works through material and process: her evocative steel-welded
and found-material “drawings” harness the primal energies of fire and heat, collapsing myth into the act
of transformation. Myth, whether cultural or personal, is a story often rooted in ritual and gesture,
capable of unlocking energy and giving it form. Cochius's large-scale wall panels are a “mesmerizing
fusion of raw energy and intricate craftsmanship” that hold within them echoes of larger transformations of energy in nature, reflecting a sensitive chaos of elements. Using the welding torch as
a substitute for a pencil or brush, Cochius creates intricate lace-like drawings that float off the wall,
shaped by fire and heat, emphasizing transformation, labor, and elemental force as acts of myth-
making.
Alongside the welded drawings, the exhibition features a series of works created with a blowtorch on antique galvanized steel roofing panels salvaged from an 1820 Hudson Valley barn. By manipulating oxygen and acetylene gases and varying the flame's intensity, the artist transforms the weathered metal into a palette of colors, ranging from stark blacks and whites to earthy browns and subtle hints of blue.