An exploration in metal

Rachel David is a metalworker, sculptor, and designer whose practice bridges art, furniture, architectural elements, community activism, and gardening. Through materially driven work that explores relationships between bodies and landscapes, David investigates themes of colonization, social equity, and environmental justice. While her work consistently pursues beauty and functionality, it is never purely aesthetic; each object is imbued with meaning and serves as a vessel for story, holding the chaos, harmony, horror, and joy of lived experience.

David’s practice is rooted in the belief that concept and craft are coequal. Using physically demanding and technically rigorous processes—including forging, forming, fabricating, and machining—she develops a conceptual language built from abstracted human affected and organic forms. These forms emerge through the interplay of shape, texture, and structure, allowing each work to respond to its environment and to the social and ecological narratives embedded within it. Whether encountered as sculpture, furniture, or site-responsive public work, her pieces are designed to live with people over time, accruing meaning through use and presence.