Earth, Wind, Fire and Water – Elena Colombo’s awe inspiring outdoor features

Earth, fire, water and wind, the four elements, are the realm for Elena Colombo‘s striking  yet simple, elegant and modern sculptures. Elena works in bronze, steel, stone, concrete and even bone. You may have seen her major works in the Raleigh  and Standards Hotels in Miami Beach or the new Standard Hotel in Manhattan.  If you have, you won’t have forgotten them. Her fire bowls can also be found in top venues and private homes. Lisa Marie Presley and Bruce Springsteen are amongst her clients.

Her Fire Trough, seen here made from Mild Steel and 10ft long is available in all sizes and materials. The setting is perfect.  More of her astounding work including fire bowls for those of us without a handy lake follow.

Bronze nest, which says it all really. It is a nest made of bronze. But that tells only half the story, the material gives the delicate looking structure a sense of solidity and permanence which, when seen with the fire alight appeals to something quite primitive and very strong in us all.

This is a model of something absolutely amazing that, we understand, is nearing completion.  Bridge Fire is a seventy five foot long sculpture being built in Bethlehem Town Square.  It celebrates Bethlehem Steel’s part in providing the steel for the USA’s most famous bridges  a thin blue line of flame, running the length of the arc and is designed to be viewed from above and below. Names and completion dates of Bethlehem Steel’s most prominent projects are to be be inscribed in the steel. We’ve only seen pictures of the model and read news about it on SculptSite. But we want to see it. We think it is going to be incredible!

Firegrass encompasses earth, wind, fire and water.  It is a shallow pool with slowly moving metal grasses surrounded by a line of fire. Unlit during the day it is serene, lit, at night it is startlingly dramatic as the fire reflects in the water.

And this is simply wild, and genius. Puddle Farm is described by Elena as a large scale exterior ornament. Thirty foot in diameter it is anchored to the sand. When the tide comes in the bowls fill with water, when the tide goes out the puddles remain with some of the bowls big enough for two people! And, we are told, in the absence of a nearby ocean it can be filled with a fountain.

And finally a simple fire bowel made from Mild Steel. Simple, but elegant. Does our fascination with fire come from somewhere deep within us and grounded long ago? Who knows? But its fascinating beauty is irresistible, especially when framed by the creative sensitivity of Elena Colombo.

For more outdoor inspiration please see Modenus Catalog