Ferdinand Metz

Creating a Retro Futuristic World with Trash from The Past.

I was born in 1965, in Rotterdam, Holland. I grew up in Los Angeles, CA. My father brought the family to Los Angeles as he was a European trained craftsman and was offered work at Walt Disney were he worked in the movie industry. I was inspired by the creative side of Hollywood at an early age.

During my career in the movie industry I met the Artist #Baron Margo. We became friends and have worked together on various projects for 30 years. I have always admired Barons work and have a large collection of his art. I then met the artist Lili Lakich when I attended her Neon Art Workshop at her Art Studio in downtown Los Angeles. This was a great experience for me and it re-ignited my creative spark and inspired me to make Illuminated art sculptures.

I have always been inspired by art deco designs and vintage concepts of the future. (Retro-Futuristic). I have restored and raced many vintage automobiles and i am a big fan of vintage planes, trains, motorcycles and cars. I also have a large collection of vintage monorail toys and other retro-futuristic toys. I published a book about the History of Toy Monorails called Monorail Metropolis. I use these designs for inspiration in my artwork. I attempt to bring together my favorite design elements along with my love for illumination.

I am always looking for new “junk” that can be saved from the scrap yards and inspire me to create my next sculpture.