Our top 10 metal sculptures in the world

Some of our top metal sculptures in the world

To celebrate our partnership with Yorkshire Sculpture Park and sculptor Brian Fell – and of course our passion for all things metal – we’ve taken a look at some of the best metal sculptures from around the globe. Here are our some of our personal favourites.

The Kelpies

One for the horse lovers. Standing an impressive 30 metres high, these horses were created in 2013 by sculptor Andy Scott and are found just outside Falkirk in Scotland. Weighing in at over 300 tonnes, each sculpture is made up of thousands of individually crafted pieces of stainless steel. Kelpie is a Scottish name given to water spirits that are claimed to live in the lochs and other bodies of water in Scotland, legend has it that these spirits can transform from (usually) horses into humans. This equine theme also  links in to the Clydesdale horses that traditionally supported the industry of the area.

Non-Violence (The Knotted Gun)

Created by Swedish artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd, ‘Non-Violence’ (commonly known as ‘The Knotted Gun’) was created as a tribute to the late John Lennon in 1985 and  later donated to the United Nations in 1988 as a symbol of peace. The original bronze sculpture is installed outside the United nations headquarters in New York. There are at least 30 copies placed around the world as significant reminders for peace.

All Hands

Brian Fell’s ‘All Hands’ sculpture is located above the culverted canal in Cardiff, South Wales, that once would have been used to supply the nearby docks with coal. This magnificent piece was installed in 2001; it is constructed from welded steel and stands over 2 metres tall. The structure depicts and celebrates the local history of the canal workers pulling the heavily-laden boats along using dense coir ropes.

Atlanta Falcon.

This imposing sculpture stands in pride of place outside the Mercedes Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, USA; home of the ‘Atlanta Falcons’ American football team. The fierce bird of prey was created by Hungarian sculptor, Gábor Miklós Szőke in 2017.The falcon is constructed from thousands of stainless-steel laser-cut sections and a large cast bronze football. The sculpture is the largest freestanding bird sculpture in the world measuring almost 21 metres wide, 12.5 metres high and weighing in at an impressive 32 tons.

S-Printing Horse

The world’s largest equine sculpture is located outside the Print Media Academy in Heidelberg, Germany. The structure stands at 13 metres high, 15 metres long, 4 metres wide, and weighs 90 tons. The sculpture was designed by Jürgen Goertz in 2000 and is constructed from stainless steel and aluminium. This 3 legged horse is said to symbolise the three phases of the printing process; the eyes symbolise the ‘prepress’ phase of scanning the setting copies, the barrel shape on the body represents the ‘cycle of the printing press’, (the face set within the barrel shape is said to serve as a reference for the warden that watches over the printing process) and the tail is represented as a book to signify the ‘processing of the print’ .

Floralis Generica

Floralis Generica stands at 23 metres high and weighs in at an impressive 18 tons. This beautiful flower sculpture is the work of Argentinian architect, Eduardo Catalano. The sculpture was made in 2002 and is situated in the Plaza de las Naciones Unidas, Avenida Figueroa Alcorta, Buenos Aires. The flower is constructed from stainless steel over an aluminium skeleton set into reinforced concrete. The sculpture in sited in a pool to both emphasise and reflect the drama of the piece, and to prevent access to the mechanism that opens the petals in the morning and then closes them again in the evening or in the case of high winds.

Cloud Gate (The Bean)

Cloud Gate was created between 2004 and 2006 by Sir Anish Kapoor. Officially named Cloud Gate, it is not hard to see how it has become widely referred to as ‘The Bean’. It is constructed from 168 stainless steel plates; so skilfully worked that no exterior seams can be seen.  Located in Chicago in Illinois, visitors can walk around the huge 33 x 66 x 42 ft structure and under the 12 ft central arch to marvel at the deformation of reflections from its differing convex and concave structured sections.

Maman

If you have a phobia of spiders this isn’t the one for you. Created by Louise Bourgeois from stainless steel and marble, Maman can be seen in all its 30ft high, 33ft wide glory at the Tate Modern in London. Take a walk around it – and underneath it – to appreciate the sheer scale of what can be created with a lot of metal and a little imagination. The sculpture at the Tate Modern was created in 1999 for Bourgeois’ inaugural commission of the Unilever Series (2000), a further 6 bronze castings have been made since.

Eros Bendato (The Head)

Known locally as ‘The Head’, this imposing piece depicting the head of Eros is by Polish artist, Igor Mitoraj, and is located in the market square in Krakόw. Mitoraj gifted the bronze sculpture to the city in 2003 and it was initially intended to be situated the Galeria Krakόwska, however, the artist did not want his art placed outside a commercial building; after a haggle and a little controversy, the sculpture was finally sited outside the Town Hall Tower in the main market square where it provides a backdrop for many tourist photographs.

Angel of the North

Standing proud since 1998 in Low Eighton, Gateshead, on the outskirts of Newcastle, the Angel of the North is both imposing and iconic. Designed by sculptor Anthony Gormley, this 66ft tall angel has a wing span of 177ft and is constructed from Cor Ten weathering steel. The Angel of the North took four years to build and was inspired by three themes; to remember and honour the coal miners who worked in the area, to mark the shift from an industrial age to an information age, and, to act as a beacon of hope.

If you are inspired by these amazing works of art, why not check out our full range of metals to get your next creative project underway!