Meander by Steve is a study in flow, form, and material transformation.

The hollow steel sculpture moves through smooth, continuous curves, guiding the eye along its surface while inviting a tactile response. Its rusted patina adds warmth and depth, reinforcing the sense of movement within a solid, industrial material.

Steve’s work is driven by a direct and physical approach to making. Rather than relying on drawings or plans, he shapes each piece intuitively, allowing the form to emerge through the process of working the metal itself. This hands-on method creates a dynamic relationship between artist and material, where resistance and refinement work together to define the final result.

The use of clastic and anticlastic curves gives Meander its fluid, organic quality. These opposing forms create both tension and harmony, allowing the sculpture to feel balanced while still in motion. The result is a piece that engages both visually and physically, encouraging viewers to follow its lines and experience its surface.

Steve’s work is represented in galleries in Santa Fe, New Mexico and Tubac, Arizona. He continues to focus on direct metal sculpture, embracing the challenge of shaping unyielding material into forms that feel natural, approachable, and alive.

Previous Entries

Herald – 2025

$9,800.00 – 83” x 20.5” x 20.5” – Stainless Steel

Sponsored by Southern Utah Wine Guild

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Comprised of five stacked asymmetrical welded stainless steel boxes that twist upward, “Herald” has a columnar form and stands tall and confident, evoking the pomp and circumstance of knights in gleaming armor, portending an abundant future and proudly announcing good things to come. “Herald” represents Steve Grater’s foray into large-scale hollow form metal technique using the hydraulic press he made to dish and cup sheet metal into complex shapes.

Transmuting – 2024

$7,500 – 98” X 25.5” X 21” – Steel and stainless

My dynamic abstract sculptures evoke organic forms, incorporating metalworking techniques of blacksmithing, jewelry making, vessel forming and repoussé. The heat, pressure, mechanical processing and manipulation with which I form ferrous and nonferrous metal into pleasing shapes are palpable in my visually impactful sculptures. For me, sculpting is a “full-contact sport” in which I practice respectful conflict with seemingly unyielding material – a negotiation that finishes in the harmonious embodiment of strength, exuberance and beauty. I’ve been following my passion for metal art since the early 1990s, culminating in a career as a sculptor. My work has been exhibited publicly and purchased for private collections throughout the western United States. Prior to becoming a full-time artist, I worked as a wildland firefighter with the Federal government while owning a shop, and making and selling artistic, creative, and functional metal art to clients.