5 incredible art installations created with a laser cutter

Using the laser cutting method, your design can be as intricate, detailed and colourful as you like.

While laser cutting was invented for industrial manufacturing applications, it’s commonly used by schools, businesses, hobbyists and artists. While we mostly deal with laser cutting steel here at ShapeCUT, we ‘ve seen some unbelievable laser cut pieces on wood, plastic, paper and even synthetic rubber.

We’ve scoured the web to find the very best laser cut art installations and sculptures to help inspire your next project.

Symbolic Peace

Symbolic Peace is a laser cut, cold rolled steel sculpture by artist Mathew Rosenblatt. It recently featured at the Toronto Light Festival, which Rosenblatt is the executive producer for. Rosenblatt says the piece was inspired by the strength of diversity in his community. Its optimistic riff on peace, which is a common value regardless of culture and religion, shines bright in the evening with its laser cut symbols enhanced with interior lighting.

Intersections

Intersections was designed by Anila Quayyum Agha, who won both the public and juried grand prizes at the ArtPrize competition in Michigan back in 2009. The work was based on the geometrical patterns used in Islamic sacred spaces, specifically the Alhambra fortress in Granada, Spain.

On the inspiration of the fortress, Agha says it “was poised at the intersection of history, culture and art and was a place where Islamic and Western discourses, met and co-existed in harmony and served as a testament to the symbiosis of difference.”

The installation itself is a 6.5-foot square laser-cut black lacquer wood cube, suspended from the ceiling and illuminated with a single light bulb to cast geometrical shadows across an otherwise empty room.

Braindrop

This enormous installation, designed by Kate Raudenbush, was created as a meditation space to honour the element of water. It stands at 17 feet, weighs in at 2,267kg and is made from 10-gauge laser-cut steel. This enormous installation is made even more beautiful in the night time, with LED lights illuminating the waterdrop. When looking up into the vortex, the lights create a breathtaking kaleidoscope effect.

Autophagocytosis

California-based artist Gabriel Schama is renowned for his intricate wood relief sculptures. Using his trusty laser-cutter, which he’s called Elsie, Schama works with multiple layers of thin plywood to create 3D designs, from geometric shapes to the human figure. One of his stand-out works is Autophagocytosis, which is composed of 13 layers of birch plywood.

Either/Or Newmarch

Similar to Schama, Virginia-based fine artist Eric Standley is creating multi-layer laser-cut sculptures, but instead of using plywood, he’s using paper. Standley spends months drawing and planning each piece, perfecting the depth, dimension and details. The laser cutting process of 100+ pieces of paper can take up to 30 hours to complete. The end result is totally worth the time spent, with each piece reminiscent of stain glass windows. Our favourite of his latest collection is Either/Or Newmarch.

About ShapeCUT

We have over 25 years’ experience laser cutting metals of all shapes and sizes into intricate designs for architectural purposes right through to bulk cuts for the heavy vehicle industry. Contact our Brisbane head office today to discuss your next steel cutting project.