Daren Fagan has been bending wire since he was a boy. The welder came later.

He works out of a garage in Highland Village, north of Dallas, making fixed and kinetic sculpture almost entirely from metal other people were finished with — rebar salvaged from the reconstruction of Interstate 35E, gears that never got used, motorcycle and automotive parts, donated bowling balls, fishing swivels. A piece starts as a sketch on a notepad or in chalk on the bench, and then he goes looking for the material that fits it.

For twenty-six years he worked in logistics and safety training. When the job ended in May 2017 he treated it as an opening rather than a loss, and went to sculpture full time — what he called life part two. Within months the Greater Lewisville Arts Alliance had chosen him to build the city’s first permanent public artwork.

They are imperfect like me.

He has welded steel sculpture since 2011. Before that it was wire — odd abstract doodles, as he calls them. About eighty per cent of what he makes now moves in some way or another: it hangs, pivots or sways, and a breeze or the pressure of a hand sets it going. The rest holds still and does the same job a different way. Faces recur. So do birds, insects and figures caught mid-stride, though he prefers the abstract pieces, the ones that make a viewer stand there and decide for themselves. Like looking at clouds, he says — everybody sees something different.

My mission is to make high quality sculpture obtainable for the folks that use their hands to make a living. Also, I will ensure that a significant portion of my sales go towards local charity.

He is self-taught. Alexander Calder is his favorite artist; he also names Picasso, Giacometti and David Smith. There really aren’t any rules when it comes to art, he says, which is roughly how the studio runs.

Public art

• Earth & BeyondCity of Lewisville, installed April 2018 — the city’s first permanent public artwork. Nineteen feet, nine hundred pounds: a Corten steel base, brushed stainless steel leaves that each move independently, and a five-foot purple bud. Approved by unanimous council vote in April 2017; fabricated by Bulloch Fabrication with engineering by Halff Associates, and a stone and glass mosaic base made by the community through the Visual Art League.
• Poydras: The Road to ProgressCity of Lewisville, 2018 — currently off view.

Exhibitions

• Third place, ARTRAGEOUS!Avant-Garde Art Exhibit, Visual Art League, MCL Grand — January 2017
• Texas Sculpture AssociationKeller Town Hall, July 2017 — 19 artists, 53 works
• Western Days exhibitMCL Grand, Lewisville — September to October 2017
• Exhibiting since 2012Galleries in Lewisville, Denton and Sanger

Affiliations

• Visual Art League of LewisvilleExhibitions, lectures and demonstrations for member artists
• Cross Timbers Artists’ GuildFounded 2001 — the Cross Timbers Artists Studio Tour
• Greater Lewisville Arts AllianceCommissioned Earth & Beyond
• Texas Sculpture AssociationShows, lecture series and professional network

Materials

• Reclaimed steelHighway rebar, plate offcuts, expanded and perforated metal
• Machine partsGears, springs, bearings, fan blades, crankshafts
• Found objectsBowling balls, globes, fishing swivels, hand tools
• Natural materialCrepe myrtle, bamboo, branches and rock