4th State Metals: Poughkeepsie’s Secret Giant Sculpture Factory
4th State is responsible for hundreds of well known sculptures around the world, across the country, and right here.
A 4th State welder works an uncommon shape.
In the creation of large-scale metal sculptures, first there’s the spark of creative inspiration in the mind of the artist and then, at 4th State Metals in Poughkeepsie, there’s the spark of a cutting torch, the welding of massive sheets of steel, laser cutting, and exacting assembly. In this unassuming warehouse, the fabrication process is an art all its own.
“We’re kind of like a studio without the artist,” says 4th State co-owner David Markusen, standing on the factory floor, surrounded by massive machines for bending and cutting and maneuvering the shiny metal shapes that hunker about the space like sharp lazy beasts. “We’re more on the technical side, but we have to understand the artistic intent to bring these pieces to life.”
Helmed by Markusen and co-founder Isaac Zal, the fabrication studio fills a small but in-demand niche in the art world, turning out multi-ton private, public, and municipal sculptures. They have collaborated with a long list of well-known artists, contributing to numerous prominent sculptural projects. Notably, they have worked with Antony Gormley, celebrated for his large-scale human figure sculptures; Ai Weiwei, the acclaimed Chinese contemporary artist and activist; and Kehinde Wiley, renowned for his portraits that explore themes of race and identity.
4th State founders David Marcusen and Isaac Zal. Photo provided by 4th State.
4th State’s work stands in public sculpture parks including Storm King Art Center, Art Omi, and Dia Beacon. They’re also responsible for the Poughkeepsie municipal sculpture at the Corey Ingram Plaza roundabout. The name of the city surrounds a ring of dark steel slats, 10 feet tall. “We love being in Poughkeepsie. So, it felt good to be able to have something we put together be so prominent here.”
The shop is also currently constructing a monument for the new Post Office Park in Kingston. The sculpture, by artist Richard Scherr, was commissioned by the city and the design commemorates the historic Kingston Post Office, which was torn down in 1970. The piece, an homage to the ornamental top of the old post office, is currently in progress on the 4th State production floor.
4th State’s small crew has also fabricated pieces for the Brooklyn Academy of Music, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and Kansas City International Airport, along with many more of the art world’s most-renowned institutions. While their work is all over the world, there are actually some pieces they can't discuss, as they often sign nondisclosure agreements with artists to keep mysterious the process that brings their vision into reality—there’s a colorful sculpture at Storm King right now you’d never know was made on a back street of the Queen City.
From Failed Go-Kart Project to Art Industry Fixture
Markusen and Zal have been forging metal together since they were kids in Highland Park, New Jersey. It started with a go-kart project that never went anywhere, and evolved through Zal’s training in metal sculpture at SUNY Purchase and Markusen’s engineering studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After college, the duo cut their teeth with master sculptural craftsman Michael Talley in Williamsburg in the early 2000s. Along with sculpture, they also made bespoke architectural elements. (Incredibly intricate metal staircases are another signature of 4th State.) When they began to outpace the operation, they struck out on their own. They founded 4th State in 2004 with the valuable blessing and connections from their mentor.
From their first major job—fabricating the Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Memorial in Harlem—the company steadily grew, expanding into larger workshops. By 2016, rising costs and gentrification in Brooklyn pushed them to seek space outside the city. “We needed a place with garage doors we could roll right into,” Markusen says. They found it in Poughkeepsie: a four-building, 30,000-square-foot facility on two acres, where they could scale up their operations and accommodate even more sculptural work.
Where Art Meets Engineering
The 4th State team’s portfolio includes everything from large sculptures, museum installations, and even kinetic artworks, like the Wonka-esque, moving metal basketball tornado that hangs from the ceiling of the Cavaliers' gift shop at Rocket Arena in Cleveland. So no two projects play out, or even start, the same way. “Sometimes we get a full 3-D model, but other times, we’re working from sketches,” Markusen explains. “A lot of our job is figuring out how to make the thing real—how to assemble it, move it, and make it durable for the elements.”
Their clients range from emerging sculptors, excited to see their work in full scale for the first time, to internationally renowned artists like Leo Villareal, whose LED installations require precision-engineered metal housings. “We love working with Leo’s team,” Markusen says. “The art is the light and sequencing, and we make the structures that hold it all together.”
Some projects require entrenched collaboration with engineers and curators who inform the process minutely, and then there’s also a good deal of improvisational problem-solving. “We’ve driven a telehandler [a kind of giant forklift] over sheet metal to get the right curve before,” Markusen laughs. “Sometimes you have to get creative.”
With approximately 120 projects a year, 4th State operates at an uncommon scale—large enough to handle major commissions, small enough for direct collaboration. “When you call us, you get Isaac or me on the phone, not layers of project managers,” Markusen says. Their expertise in architectural metalwork and public sculptures has made them popular in two industries. “Every weld, every joint—it all has to be perfect,” he adds. “We tend to overdesign things because we want them to last.”
The Art of Letting Go
Markusen says he doesn’t get too attached to the work he does for Artists. For him, it’s about execution. “I love the completion of a project, but I don’t necessarily feel like it’s mine,” he says. “By the time we’re wrapping one up, I’m already onto the next.” Even so, there’s pride in seeing their work out in the world. “I once walked up to the Hessel Museum and saw a bench with legs we made. I didn’t even remember it until I saw it right there. That was a good feeling.”
As 4th State Fabrication continues to help shape the landscape of contemporary sculpture, Markusen and his team remain focused on craft. “At the end of the day,” he says, “we make ideas real. That’s what we do.”
