A huge thank you to my friends at Empire Copper for the feature. 

Click here for original article, or read below: 

FEATURE ARTIST: ADAM COLANGELO

By Elizabeth Fleming March 4, 2022

Hey Empire Community! 

For this month’s feature artist interview, we are in Ontario, Canada (virtually of course). Our artist this month is  Adam Colangelo. We have long admired Adam’s work and have really enjoyed getting to know him and we are sure you will too!

Adam creates incredible copper wall art in many sizes, styles and colours; the colour and depth of his patina’s are truly amazing. My personal favourite are his red’s and pink’s, of which we have selected for the feature image of this article. 

Now, let’s go straight to the source:

1. Tell us all about you…

My name is Adam Colangelo, I’m a self-taught contemporary copper artist living/working in the Niagara wine region of Ontario, Canada. I’ve always been a hands-on, experiential learner. Growing up, I enjoyed (and still enjoy) playing the guitar, wood working, cooking, gardening, and motorcycle restoration. I have a background in teaching/education; however, soon after graduating university, I redirected my skills and passions to creating visual art.

2. How did you get into working with copper and creating copper art?

One day shortly after my grandfather’s passing in 2009, I was tinkering in his workshop when I came across an old roll of thin sheet copper. I was inspired to create something from the copper as a tribute to him. I experimented with several thermal and chemical techniques to create various colours and textures, and the results intrigued me. I was excited because this type of work seemed to compliment many of my skills and interests.

3. What was the first copper piece you ever made? And how long ago was that? How long have you been doing this for?

I’ve been creating art in various forms for the past 15 years. The piece that kickstarted my copper art career was created in 2009. It was made from that old roll of copper I discovered in my grandfather’s workshop. I still have it in my collection. Looking at it now, you can see how my work has evolved over time.

4. What are some notable features of your work?

My most recent ‘feature’ project was a commissioned print run of over 1500 reproductions of my original “Take Them Up” for the Bellagio Hotel in Las Vegas. (side bar: how insanely cool is this!?) I hope to visit one day and view each and every one of them.

5. Where is your workshop based? and where do you ship to? 

My studio is based in the Niagara wine region of Ontario (Canada). Most of my sales are within North America; however, I do ship worldwide. I just recently shipped two pieces to a collector in London, UK.

6. Is there anything you would like to say about you, your business, your art, the art world or even a favourite quote?

I consider myself extremely lucky to have found a way to make a living doing something I truly enjoy. It’s been a rewarding experience navigating the art world as an independent artist working with copper. There’s so much to learn when you first start, and you have to be prepared to work hard and wear many ‘hats’ in order to run a successful small business. But if there’s a will, there’s always a way.

If you’d like to see more of Adam’s art, you can visit his website or, if you loved what read, and would like to know more, you can follow Adam here, on Instagram.