The Crommelynck Gate with Tools

The Crommelynck Gate with Tools was inspired by the gate leading to the Paris studio of master printmaker Aldo Crommelynck. Jim Dine began working with Crommelynck on the production of his own prints in 1973. He passed through the wrought iron gate each morning and evening and looked out upon it from his worktable throughout the day. Rather than replicating Crommelynck's gate, Dine transformed it into a monumental homage to his friend. The hammers, wrenches, C-clamps, pliers, and axes that embellish this gate reflect Dine's childhood experience in the family hardware store. Tools and other everyday objects have been part of his visual vocabulary since the 1960s. Dine took direct castings of the tools, twisted them slightly, cast them in bronze, and welded them to the bronze gate.