Commissioning
Commissioning and purchasing sculpture can be very simple, or a little complex depending on your needs and desires. This information will hopefully demystify the process for you.
We have a number of sculptors associated with the studio and we facilitate sales and commissions for them. Tom Bass’ work is also able to be purchased via the studio. Because we are a not-for-profit association (go to www.tombass.org.au), in most instances we minimise the studio fee/ commission so that the sculptures are more affordable and/or the artist gets a larger proportion of the fee. So instead of the more usual 40% fee the studio charges usually range from 10 -25% on sales or commission. Generally the more costly sculpture commissions have a smaller studio fee.
Buying sculpture
When buying sculpture through the school there are several ways this can be approached.
Check out our Portfolios page, each sculptor lists their prices and information and we can directly facilitate sales.
The other way to see work that has been done at the school is to view Past Exhibitions which are also still listed on the website and we can explore if works are still for sale.
A third way is to talk to us and we would be happy to give you a call and discuss your needs.
Many purchasers have seen a work of a sculptor from our studio and then want to see more by them, we can also facilitate this process.
Commissioning sculpture
In this you engage the sculptor to design and make a sculpture specific to your needs, interests or values, as well as the location for which the sculpture is intended. It involves a dialogue whereby the sculptor can learn about these aspects of your ideas which then enables them to interpret and translate these into a sculptural form.
The stages of making a commission include;
The dialogue, exploration phase
Discussion what the sculpture is, its purpose, where it will be etc.
The proposal of a design
Either as a drawing or maquette (small 3D model) and discussion of material and costs. The design can be reviewed before the final concept it arrived at. The material for the sculpture will be part of the design process. As a result of this the client will commit to proceed with the making of the full scale work.
Making of the full work
Depending on the nature of the work and material to be used the full scale work may be fabricated directly into a material suitable for the design. This includes carving. Many sculptures are also modelled in clay and then casted into a durable material.
It is possible to go a long way into this process before a final cost can be given and the client may then decide the work is beyond their budget. For this reason it is preferable to discuss budget/costs in the first phase of the commission process.
Cost is influenced by the complexity of the work and the size and materials used. A bronze bust (for example) may be around $12-15,000 depending on the size and an abstract and/or figurative relief of say 60 cm high may be $8,000 in bronze. Having work cast into a stone like material such as Forton or polyester resin may reduce the cost by 20-30%. Most commissioners pay for the work in staged payments.
Feel free to Contact Us to talk about the process or have an initial enquiry into commissioning or purchasing.