After four months of meticulous planning and intense creation, sculptor Gary Traczyk just completed “Matrix,” a Patty Madden-designed 7-foot by 7-foot custom stainless steel wall sculpture. The finished work is now on display in the designer’s home.
“It was a wonderful opportunity to collaborate with such a talented artist,” says Traczyk. “This was the most challenging, the most time-consuming and the most rewarding piece I’ve ever created.”
Designer Patty Madden admires “Matrix” in her home.
The intricate work – titled “Matrix” for Madden’s vision that inspired the piece – is only the second wall sculpture Traczyk has taken on.
Madden, a sought-after South Florida wall and upholstery designer, approached Traczyk about the project after seeing his other stainless steel wall sculpture in a prominent commercial building on South Beach.
“I always welcome challenges and collaboration,” says Traczyk. “But initially looking at her drawing – which was stunning – it seemed impossible to translate to metal.”
For weeks, Traczyk agonized about how to bring the concept to life, using stacks of boxes as proxies for the grid, and drawing scads of Escher-like diagrams with pencil and colored highlighters (though he insists he doesn’t draw).
Then, in another first for the artist and firefighter who usually works on pure intuition, Traczyk enlisted the help of friend Alex Martinez for his expertise with computer-aided design programs. This was a key step in figuring out the feasibility of Madden’s drawing, making necessary adjustments and engineering a map for the sculpture’s successful execution.
Patty Madden’s original design (center right) amid Gary Traczyk’s numerous sketches for the eventual “Matrix” wall sculpture.
“I really stepped outside my comfort zone,” Traczyk said. “Alex helped me with all aspects of this project.”
The labor of love unfolded over four months and incorporated a colossal 440 linear feet of 1-inch, 3/4-inch and half-inch square stainless steel tubing.
Traczyk cut each piece to a precision length and welded these lengths together at hundreds of perpendicular junctions, building as many as three layers of metal throughout the large-scale piece.
“I’ve never used so much metal in a project,” says Traczyk, who has been creating stainless steel sculpture for 23 years.
The Miami artist then used an abrasive water jet to cut and smooth dozens upon dozens of 1 1/4 and 1 5/8-inch stainless steel disks to a flawless finish before bonding them to the sculpture, adding ornament to each of the intersections.
“The most gratifying moment of all came when I hung it on the wall and saw Patty’s face filled with so much beautiful emotion. It was just neat to see her dream come to life.”
Traczyk thrives on artistic growth and looks forward to creating new commissioned wall art pieces in the near future.