Stainless Steel Fabrication for Public Art and Museum Commissions
Public art commissions fail on logistics more often than on craft. An artist has a form, a gallery has a date, an installer has a crane window, and someone has to turn all of that into a base plate, a bolt pattern and a crate. We fabricate the metalwork to the drawing, grind the welds until the form reads cleanly in reflection, and return shop drawings so the base and the lift are settled before the piece leaves Shenzhen.
What Goes Wrong on These Projects
Problems
- Fabricators who cannot read or return proper shop drawings stall the whole commission
- Welds left unblended break the line of a large mirror form
- Foundations are poured before the base plate geometry is known
- Crating built to a standard box damages an irregular form
- Grade is chosen for cost and then fails on an exposed public site
What Buyers Need
- A workshop that will work from an artist or architect drawing rather than a catalogue
- Shop drawings covering base plate, bolt pattern, weight and lift points
- Seam finishing good enough for a mirror surface at gallery viewing distance
- Crating built around the actual form with a cradle
- A single point of contact who answers technical questions directly
Products for This Sector
Garden SculptureLarge Stainless Steel Sculpture - Moon Gate
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Garden SculptureLarge Stainless Steel Sculpture - Windmill & Eye of the Sky
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Outdoor Concave Mirror DiscsAnish Kapoor Stainless Steel Sky Mirror
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Stainless Steel SpheresLarge Stainless Steel Globes Sculpture
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Interior Decoration SculptureModern Concave Mirror Stainless Steel Sculpture
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Water Drop and FountainLarge Abstract Stainless Steel Water Wave Sculpture
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Stainless Steel Spheres1100mm Mirror Polished Large Stainless Steel Hollow Sphere
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Outdoor Concave Mirror DiscsAnish Kapoor Silver Large Mirror Polishing Concave Disc
View DetailsTypical Applications
Plaza and forecourt landmark works
Sky mirror style concave discs on open ground
Gallery and exhibition installations in polished steel
Museum courtyard and sculpture park pieces
Commemorative and memorial commissions
Touring installations that need repeatable crating
How We Run a Project in This Sector
- Stage 1Send the artist or architect drawing with the intended size, grade and finish
- Stage 2We come back with buildability notes, a price and a lead time
- Stage 3Shop drawings issued covering base plate, bolt pattern, weight and lift points
- Stage 4Cutting, forming, welding and full seam grinding
- Stage 5Anchors and lift points welded in before final polishing
- Stage 6Batch photographs sent for approval
- Stage 7Crate built around the form with a cradle, then shipped from Shenzhen
Delivery Terms
- 15 to 30 days after deposit, depending on size and complexity
- T/T, 50 percent deposit and 50 percent balance before shipping
- Shop drawings issued before production on large commissions
- Crating designed around the piece rather than a standard box
- Shipped from Shenzhen, China
Related Guides
Installing a Large Stainless Steel Sculpture
What has to be agreed before a large piece ships, from base plate geometry to when the protective film comes off.
Mirror Polishing Explained for Stainless Steel Sculpture
Why the quality of a mirror finish is decided during welding and fixing, long before the piece reaches the polishing shop.
Packing Lead Time and Shipping for Sculpture Orders
What the 15 to 30 day lead time actually covers, how pieces are crated, and what to send so the first quote is the right one.
Public Art and Museums Questions
Will you fabricate from an artist's drawing?
Yes. Send the drawing with the intended size, grade and finish. We return buildability notes and then shop drawings before production.
Do you provide weights and lift points?
Yes, on the shop drawings for large pieces, so the installer can plan the crane and the rigging before the crate arrives.
How well are the welds finished?
Welds are ground and blended until the joint no longer reads in reflection. On a mirror surface this is the difference between a finished work and a fabricated one.
Can you match a finish across several pieces in one commission?
Yes, if they are made together. Pieces finished in one batch are the only reliable way to keep a series consistent.
How are irregular forms crated?
Foam against the surface, then a case built around the actual geometry with a wooden cradle.
Discuss a Public Art and Museums Project
Send the drawing and the installation date and we will come back with buildability notes and a price.