The Artist’s Eye: Patina
by Simon Kogan
When sculptor Simon Kogan speaks about patina, he isn’t simply referring to color on bronze — he’s talking about a way to bring life, emotion, and depth to form. Patina, in his view, is not just decoration or surface treatment; it’s a language that helps a sculpture speak.
Understanding the Evolving Role of Patina
While the idea of patina has deep historical roots, Simon reminds his students that its modern use is far more flexible and expressive than ever before. In ancient Greece, artists sought brightness and clarity — bronze was kept gleaming, and color was used to enhance visibility under the Mediterranean sun. What we now see as aged or weathered masterpieces were, in their time, highly decorated and vividly painted.
That ancient sense of boldness, Simon says, is something modern artists can learn from — but today’s patina offers even more possibilities. We can use it not to preserve, but to interpret. We can apply it to bring out the form, define the mood, and even tell the story of the material itself.
Patina as Expression
In Simon’s studio, patina is a tool of interpretation. “Everything goes,” he says. “Practically every color of the palette is possible in coloring bronze.” He uses it to shape the emotional tone of each sculpture — not simply to color it, but to reveal it.
One of his pieces, for instance, was patinated to resemble ceramic. The original sculpture had been created in clay, and the client wanted to preserve that softness in bronze. Rather than letting the metal dominate, Simon developed a surface that carried the memory of the original material — a fusion of strength and fragility.
In another work, he used bright orange patina to capture the energy and personality of the subject. And in a different piece, he applied gold leaf — a nod to the ancient Greek practice — allowing the sculpture to shimmer in light. “Depending on what’s underneath,” he notes, “the appearance is going to be different. But gold never changes — it will stay like that forever.”
Building Mood Through Surface
Not every patina needs to shine. Some pieces are designed to feel aged, buried, or weathered. Simon’s sculptures below were intentionally treated to appear as though it had spent centuries underground — a “crusty, rich patina,” as he describes it, meant to express the passage of time. The result was not imitation, but storytelling: a way of embedding history into the surface.
These choices show how patina can transform bronze into something far beyond its material reality. Through texture, layering, and tone, Simon uses patina to create atmosphere — to bring out mood, highlight form, and direct the viewer’s eye.
The Artist’s Philosophy
For Simon, patina is ultimately about revealing form, not disguising it. He doesn’t use color merely for decoration, as the Greeks once did. Instead, patina becomes a partner to the sculpture’s structure — a means of exposing its rhythm, weight, and emotion.
“I use patina to expose the form more pronouncedly,” he explains, “to bring more of the effect of the sculpture.”
The lesson here is simple but profound: patina is not an afterthought. It’s part of the creative process — as vital as composition or proportion. It shapes the viewer’s emotional experience, connects the sculpture to its environment, and carries forward the timeless conversation between surface and form.
A Living Surface
In today’s art world, the possibilities are limitless. Chemical patinas, heat patinas, gilding, pigments — all can be combined to create effects that range from subtle to striking. Simon encourages artists to explore without fear. “Everything goes,” he says — meaning that there are no longer rigid rules about what a sculpture should look like, only the challenge of making the surface serve the idea.
Patina, then, is not just a finish. It is an act of transcending — from metal to meaning.
See Bronze head (Glyptothek Munich 457) with and without patina HERE
See more on the coloring of marble HERE