I recently saw some of Lewis Tardy’s work at a show, and was impressed by the visual impact of his metal automatons against a dark background (particularly the moving pieces).
While it’s difficult to call his sleek, modern chrome pieces “steampunk,” exactly — they’re more like high-gloss H.R. Giger — they certainly partake of the steampunk aesthetic, as well as the anatomical aesthetic.
According to his artist’s statement,
The biomechanical styles of Lewis Tardy’s sculptures have evolved throughout a lifetime of experiences, creating life and motion out of static scrap metals. . . Significant inspiration comes from shapes and designs discovered within the found parts and materials, which takes shape in human and animal subjects alike.
While it’s hard to link directly to individual pieces on his site, my favorites include the found object assemblages “Fly-Tox” (navigate to Gallery -> Introspective) and “Black Rhino” (Gallery -> Animilia). The Mercury-like figure “Pacesetter” (Gallery -> Introspective) is particularly graceful, like a hood ornament on a vintage roadster. You can get your very own Tardy “Mosquito” for under $300 (navigate to Available Work). He had a “Mosquito” at the show, crawling up a wall of the booth, and it really was eye-catching.