Frank Strunk III has a distinctive style — once you've seen his work, when you see it again, you know it instantly.
That is not to say Strunk's work is predictable, because it's possible Strunk may not even know what that word means. But Strunk has a style, and it's one not easily forgotten.
My art is often about the things that I feel matter most. Every great piece of art was fueled by love. It's just garbage metal. I burnish it. I polish it. I want to make things that are beautiful out of things that are nothing. —Frank Strunk III
The first time I saw his shop at the eastern edge of Gulfport — steps from the Blueberry Patch — the vibe struck me. Assorted doll heads, old slasher movies playing on VHS with the sound muted, and an amalgam of metal things. In the middle of it all was Strunk, working on his latest project.
One motif fans will notice in his work? Gears. That stems from a childhood spent around his father's printing press, where the gears and other machinery enchanted him.
"Strunk's trademark kinetic sculptures revel in the excitement he first felt surrounded by the mechanical energy of the presses," a press release from Leslie Curran's ARTicles explains. Curran's press release touts Strunk's latest local exhibit, Deliver Me. And she's not wrong.
"My art is often about the things that I feel matter most," Strunk says. "Every great piece of art was fueled by love. It's just garbage metal. I burnish it. I polish it. I want to make things that are beautiful out of things that are nothing."
Meet the artist on Mar. 3 and take your time to see — really see — the beauty Strunk has brought out in his "garbage metal."
