Thinking outside the block.(art industry news)

When many art collectors and galleries contemplate sculpture, they often think of classic works such as Michelangelo's "David" and media such as bronze, marble and acrylic. Nowadays, however, sculpture has grown to encompass a variety of exciting new media and several artists have found smashing success with works forged with a variety of unique materials. Indeed, many artists are moving out of the more traditional sculpture realm and creating masterpieces with such substrates as steel, aluminum, rusted metal, fiber, glass, wood, resin and more.

This strategy has paid off. Collectors are flocking to galleries and studios to bring this work into their homes, and art dealers are discovering that the appeal of the work and their clients' response to it has become a compelling reason to bring it into their galleries and boutiques.

"It's not about sale-ability," explains Andrew Witkin, director of the Barbara Krakow Gallery in Boston, a gallery that carries the work of several unique sculpture artists, including Maryellen Latas, Bill Thompson and Michael Beatty, among others. "It's about the personal response we have to the work, which is a very positive one, that makes us want to stand behind it and support it. Our hope is that what we think is great, others will as well."

Many artists are finding success with more nontraditional work. Among them are the Fenton, Mich.-based, husband-and-wife team of Marcia and Bill Finks, who have been selling their funky, painted, rusted-metal sculptures with great success for the past 15 years with their company, Primitive Twig.

"People who come in to buy Primitive Twig are looking for something that makes them happy and makes them smile;' explains Bill Finks. "And the response is exactly …