Introduction to the Equilibrium Art Project, sponsored by STULZ USA:
On a cool Friday in April, Equilibrium, a striking new kinetic sculpture was installed in the Carroll Creek Kinetic Art Promenade in downtown Frederick, Maryland—the home of STULZ's North American headquarters. STULZ USA is committed to supporting our local community and we were excited to collaborate with local artists to create a unique piece of art to be featured in a community enhancement project that is initiated and managed by the Rotary Club of Carrol Creek in downtown Frederick, Maryland.
What is Kinetic art?
The Rotary Club describes Kinetic art as "a sculpture that interacts with nature to create movement. Wind is the most common element of nature but water could be another. The interaction with nature enhances the beauty of the artwork."
Who are the artists?
Equilibrium is the work of artist duo Marguerite (Margot) de Messières and Tsvetomir (Tsetso) Naydenov, who were commissioned by STULZ for this installation. Known for their collaborative kinetic sculptures, the pair brought deep craftsmanship and creativity to the design. The sculpture features a five-foot-tall forged steel arm reaching skyward from the creek bed, its finger delicately balancing a rotating copper vane that dances with the wind—always returning to center.
Sustainability in All Aspects of our Business:
What makes this project even more meaningful is its use of recycled refrigerant piping from our Frederick manufacturing plant. The copper vane was forged and enameled using this reclaimed material, bringing new life to a product that once carried the lifeblood of our precision cooling units. The warm and cool color palette of the enamel represents both the heat generated by mission-critical data centers and the cooling technologies developed by STULZ to support them.
Join me for an inside look at the artistic process, from a visit to the design studio in Maryland.
After an initial meeting on a breezy February morning — sunlight filtering through a forest canopy — Margot de Messières ushered us into a backyard workshop in Boyds, where Tsetso Naydenov was waiting. We entered through a rugged wood door and into a charming, well-lit metal shop.
I joined a half dozen women and men chatting — other representatives from the sculpture sponsor, STULZ, and committee members for the Carroll Creek Kinetic Art Promenade.
The workshop features a dark wood beam supporting the high-canted roof. We saw dozens of labeled racks, machines and worktables scattered with tools. An old, power hammer dominated the left side of the workshop, near an anvil. Sketches of older kinetic sculptures were pinned to a thick winch by the door.
De Messières is a multimedia artist wearing bright denim blue over stripes, with black hair held in a bun, gleaming round glasses and dark trousers. Naydenov is a craftsman with windblown salt-and-pepper hair, wearing dusty leather boots, face framed by a thick grey beard and boxy glasses. The pair of artists revealed a 5-foot-tall steel arm, reaching toward the roof, palm open, its index finger bent up. The sculpture, titled “Equilibrium,” features hand-forged reclaimed steel shaped like curving muscles and fingers atop sweeping arm flanges.
Naydenov superheated a copper refrigerant pipe in a ceramic crucible while de Messières led us back to a second, cozy workshop adjoining the first. There, she demonstrated her enameling process. De Messières explained that torch flame has a coloring effect on copper, like raku-style pottery firing.
Imperfections bring out interesting patterns. Enameling relies on a dusting of ceramic powder to glaze the copper. A torch heats the far side to a glowing sunset orange, fusing the enamel to the copper part and revealing a rich color. Layers of enamel are added to either side of the metal part without overheating the enamel.
I enameled a piece of copper myself. I sprinkled the powder on the scrap held by my tongs then feathered the torch flame until a glossy, deep cerulean manifested.
When we returned to the metal shop, I asked de Messières, “How do you design a kinetic sculpture like this one? How did you both come up with the idea and test it?” She paused thoughtfully, then explained that their concept phase involves mechanics and theme. “We had our arguments about it,” she said.
De Messières championed specific themes and colors, while Naydenov cautioned mechanics and manufacturability. They discussed environmental, heat and cold symbolism, and looked at past prototypes of kinetic sculptures to draw inspiration from during the design process.
“We considered another design with an oscillating, back-and-forth motion but settled on the current design because we want this sculpture to last.”
The recycled metals in Equilibrium reflect STULZ’s commitment to environmental sustainability. The warm and cool enameled copper vane on top of the hand will spin, rise and fall, but always find balance, like a scale.
As we talked, Naydenov brought the copper pipe to a blistering temperature. White-hot propane flames glowed around the pipe sitting in the crucible. We could feel the room grow warmer as Naydenov rearranged the pipe with tongs. Soon, he had melted the copper into a bubbling pool, bright like the sun. He let the copper cool to a solid red, then carried it in tongs to the retro sea-green power hammer on the far side of the workshop, hammering the piston down dozens of times to shape the lump of dangerous metal. Hydraulic banging filled the room as metal hammered metal. When he was done, a freshly forged rectangle of copper sat on his anvil — smoke coiling through the sunlight.
Naydenov explained that he brought the 1980s power hammer over from Bulgaria. “They don’t make them like this anymore. It’s industrial grade. I brought it from the old country and had to navigate import laws to get it here.”
He says the power hammer is bolted into the concrete floor because the intense energy in the piston will travel to the weakest point. You want that to be the forged metal, not the foundation.
Working with the copper pipe is a return to his earlier years. “That’s how I learned — my father was a steam fitter.” Naydenov’s father worked on all sizes of steam pipes, like radiators.
A spark of reserved excitement rises in Naydenov’s eyes.
‘Copper is a dream to work with,” he says with his comfortable Bulgarian accent.
Steel is very difficult to rework, but copper will accommodate reworking and more elaborate designs with organic curves. The wrought steel folds, rivets and recycled copper wind vane celebrate the craft at STULZ and these two artists.
Naydenov and de Messières put love into their artwork; you can feel it when they talk about their process. The pair moved to the area specifically to continue making kinetic sculptures. Frederick’s Carroll Creek kinetic art promenade was a significant draw for them.
Fast forward to April, and the sculpture has been installed in downtown Frederick, the arm rising from the water of Carroll Creek, with a glittering, enameled copper vane balanced atop its finger. The copper vane is forged entirely from recycled refrigerant piping from the STULZ USA plant in Frederick.
Equilibrium will be visible, glittering in Carroll Creek, for the next couple years. It reflects both the precision of STULZ engineering and our commitment to sustainability, innovation, and local artistry.
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