Sand Stools

2023

Kohler Cast Iron Foundry, Kohler, WI

Material Research

Sand Stools is an experimental collection of designed objects created during an artist’s residency in the Kohler Company’s cast iron foundry in Kohler, Wisconsin. The project draws inspiration from conflicting narratives around sand in our built and natural environments: from the growing footprints of silica sand in building construction, to its expendability as formwork in industrial casting and manufacturing processes, to its indispensable role in maintaining eroding coastal landscapes. Through the development of an improvised casting process designed to subvert the mechanized workflows of the factory’s production line, each unique piece attempts to capture both the playfulness and the precarity of this overlooked material.

Technical Consultant: William Rice

Photography: Sammy Reed

Sand Stools was supported by the Kohler Arts & Industry Residency Program and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center.