Rachel David

Raised in Maryland and now a resident of Western North Carolina, Rachel David is a blacksmith, sculptor, designer, and maker. Her metalwork practice is holistic; encompassing art, furniture, architectural elements, activism, collaborations, and gardening. In her work, concept and craft are coequal. Using the physical and technically demanding processes of forging, forming, and machining steel, Rachel addresses broader issues of “body” and “landscape” through the lens of social and environmental justice. She expresses these ideas by making sculpture, furniture, and architectural elements. The queer, powerful, and subversive parts of life, body, and politics are referenced by the masses that push out of that framework. Patterns in the metal reference a range of ideas from habitat loss, colonization, and pollination, to skin folds and mountain ranges, to carnal knowledge.

Rachel David has exhibited work nationally and internationally in solo and group exhibitions. Her work has been included in several publications, including American Craft Magazine, Metalsmith magazine, and Ironwork Today 4. David's work is in the collections of the Smithsonian Renwick Gallery, the City of New Orleans, the City of Asheville, the Simone Benetton Foundation, and in numerous private collections.

Rachel David

Raymond Bonilla and Rachel David

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