Hotel Zena - Axiom

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BRAY WHALER

Venus Sculpture

Research &
Development

Digital Sculpting

Molding &
Casting

We recreated, enlarged and illuminated the Venus of Lespugue for Washington D.C.’s new Hotel Zena—the hotel-slash-gallery focuses on works celebrating women. The life-size sculpture lives outdoors, overlooking the rooftop pool.

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A focus on research and development.

Our Innovation Team was engaged throughout the design and fabrication process, collaborating with designers and engineers to accurately recreate the historic figure.

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From whiteboard to computer screen to the shop floor.

After the fabrication process was meticulously mapped and the figurine was digitally sculpted, we milled a buck, formed a fiberglass jacket mold (build in two parts to limit seams), then we rotocast it!

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Custom tools for precision.

The Venus of Lespugue is a small ivory carving dated to 26,000-20,000 BCE and is among the most famous prehistoric Venus figurines. Throughout the process of recreating and enlarging the sculpture, we took extra care to maintain the distinctive characteristics of the original, even making our own set of tools to accurately recreate the dimpling.

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Made for the outdoors.

Material research and engineering were key to ensure that this sculpture could permanently live outdoors. We used outdoor-grade and rust-proof fiberglass hollowed to receive an LED column with waterproof light modules. The 4.5-foot tall sculpture sits on top of a weatherproof metal armature and base.

Credits

Client: Bray Whaler
Art Direction: Andrea Sheehan, Dawson Design Associates
In-Situ Photography: Courtesy of Dawson Design Associates

Back to Work

The Shop

2424 NE Riverside Way
Portland, OR 97211
(503) 285-1314

The Studio

160 NE 6th Ave, Suite 500
Portland, OR 97232
(503) 285-1314

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