Metal Sculpture with Lemont Artists Guild

The Lemont Artists Guild is pleased to present Steve Kost, who will talk about his Metal Sculpture artwork and how he came to creating it. Steve Kost is a local artist who is also a United States Veteran and also worked as an Ironworker high above Chicago's city-scape. He creates "upcycled" metal sculptures which came about originally from dismantling typewriters and sewing machines. He will talk about his "Metal Health Artwork," places he has displayed his sculptures, including the Library of Congress, and share his deep sense of purpose that comes with the healing power of creating art. 

Kost's journey to becoming a scrap metal artist began when joined the Navy at 17 years old and became a hull technician, eventually joining a battalion with the Navy Seabees as a steelworker. During a deployment overseas, he experienced trauma and when he got home, Kost said he tried to put his traumatic experiences aside and move forward. He became an ironworker in Chicago and after seeking mental health counseling through the Veterans Health Administration, he began to tinker with spare metal parts to create animal sculptures. 

As mentioned above, he dismantled typewriters and sewing machines in his basement to occupy his mind and hands and through this, he started creating his first projects, small simple bolted and riveted figures. Since delving into scrap metal art, Kost has become a voice for the challenges combat veterans face, advocating for them to use their time and energy constructively. He's also a musical artist; Kost plays drums for the rock band The Seventh Sons. 

He has proudly displayed his sculptures at the Illinois State Museum, the Library of Congress, the Joliet Historical Society, the National Veterans Creative Arts Festival, Scrapfest Metal Art Festival in Lansing, Michigan, and online as a featured Veteran Artist with a special commissioned sculpture prominently displayed on the Google search page and installed in their HQ at St. Johns Terminal in New York City. 

In October of 2018, he had his first experience sharing his art in public at a Chicago Veterans art show and he felt a sense of belonging with the talented veteran artists he met there. Since then, he has found a deep sense of purpose in sharing his journey and inspiring other veterans to find the healing power of art for themselves. As he continues to take the next steps in his journey, he looks forward to finding opportunities to create and share more public art installations.

Open to all; you don’t have to be a Lemont Artists Guild member.