CASTING PROCESS

All Vadim’s bespoke limited edition works are exclusive, having been expertly hand crafted with skilled precision. Vadim has spent several decades specialising and refining the intricate lost wax process known as “Cire Perdue”.
This technique was used for casting in bronze, whereby a new ceramic shell mould would be made and destroyed for each individually cast piece. The earliest examples of this process date from around 3000 BC, and be found in ancient Egypt. This is one of the most costly methods of casting but has the major advantage of preserving the details and shading of the original work in every casting. This ensures that the pieces always continually meet the highest standards of quality.

The Lost Wax casting process is a method of casting in which a wax form is encased in a heat-resistant material, as clay or mostly ceramic silica-sand compound that is hardened and then heated to melt and drain away the wax, producing a mould into which molten metal is poured.

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Once bronze is poured into the cured ceramic shells the sculpture cools and a shell begins to pop away from the bronze. This shell will be completely broken away. Finally, any texturing that was lost or damaged in the casting or welding process is recreated. The sculpture is then polished in preparation for application of the patina, which is the coloured finish on cast bronze sculptures. The various colours, patterns and textures can be achieved in the patina process and sealed with waxes or lacquer.

Most bronze sculptures are part of a "limited edition" containing a fixed number of castings. This edition number is decided by the artist, usually after the first piece has been cast, and individually stamped on each piece (e.g. 1/12) thus concluding the process of bronze sculpture production. But each piece made by Vadim is either unique or part of a very small edition of three.