The Three Graces

Upon first look, Joseph Sulkowski’s “Three Graces” sculpture is a dynamic vignette of stainless steel and light. Based on a segment of Sulkowski’s large allegorical “Apokalupsis” painting, it presents three foxhounds reaching enlightenment at the intersection of the mortal and spiritual worlds. The sculpted foxhounds’ path started with 3D scanning at Direct Dimensions’ facility in Owings Mills. We then used the digital twins for design iteration, project development and precision digital fabrication.

Sulkowski, an expert in the traditional principles of painting in 17th century techniques, is an established sporting life painter whose work is represented in collections worldwide. To convey his concept in spectacular fashion, he called on Direct Dimensions for our expertise with digital sculpture fabrication to help develop a viable design. With nearly 30 years as a leader in 3D scanning, we have a track record of guiding artists through the digital workflow to recreate sculptures in different materials and at various scales.

To realize Sulkowski’s vision, the artwork stands at 85” long, 75” tall and 69” wide and consists of five major elements: a stainless steel structure embodying two colliding spheres, three nearly life-sized dog sculptures traversing the spheres, and a 50” diameter glowing “acorn” that illuminates the work from within. All of these elements were designed as an assembly with each element created by a unique process. The individual 3D models ensured a precise fit for assembly.

The stainless steel and the tooling for the acorn were fabricated using computer numerical control (CNC), while the dogs were 3D printed to recreate the organic form and detail captured in the 3D scans. The leading dog is a crystal clear casting made from a 3D printed and polished pattern. The center and trailing dogs are both 3D printed resin with an electroformed copper and nickel surface that adds strength and metallic shine. The center dog is a hollow outline created by a “word lace” and the final trailing dog appears as a solid metal object.

The sculpture will make its public debut in fall of 2024 in Charleston, South Carolina at the Gallery by Southeastern Wildlife Exposition (SEWE). Maryland Public Television also featured the sculpture in an episode of “Made in Maryland” that aired May 8, 2024. Watch the 30-minute episode here.