Ford Engineering Lab
The Ford Engineering Lab in Michigan is the longtime home for the automotive company's research, design, and development, and now houses the company's archives. Following a major renovation, artist Dan Covert was invited to create site-specific works for the lobby of the classic Albert Kahn building.
Covert's installation includes three wall-mounted sculptural panels that demonstrate his evolution from rigid geometric forms to more textured, human-centered work, alongside Arcane, a commissioned sculpture that creates visual balance through a delicate tension. The artist's background in graphic design and film direction informs his approach to creating works that function both individually and in dialogue with one another, much like the collaborative spirit that has defined the Ford Engineering Lab throughout its history.
Behind the Process
Covert's wall-based pieces for Ford emerged from a conversation with Uprise Art founder Tze, who suggested removing the backing panels from his relief paintings—freeing the geometric forms to hang independently on the wall. He simultaneously began experimenting with plaster textures he couldn't smooth perfectly, layering these intentionally imperfect surfaces onto his rigid geometric shapes. For Arcane, he scaled up a 2021 maquette specifically for the building's alcove, collaborating with fabricators to translate the piece from inches to feet while developing the textured patina and gold underpainting that distinguishes the final work.
Producing 'Arcane' was a very different process for me. Working on my own, it’s mostly a monologue. I make something, and it's done and released out into the world. With a fabricator and with clients, it becomes a dialogue.
Dan Covert
'Arcane' has a textured patina, and there’s also this gold underpainting that peeks through the sculpture’s surface. There's a lot of nuance and detail in the piece that stemmed from conversations and back-and-forth with the fabricator, who brought a lot of expertise and craft to the process.
Dan Covert
