Metal Statement Art: Custom Gazebos, Gallery Quality Metal Sculpture and Unique Bird Baths
Gazebos & Pagodas | Outdoor Structures
Invictus Steelworks custom metal gazebos are made to order and built to suit. Designed and handmade by steel artist Robert Simmons, these outdoor structures are works of functional art. Create a beautiful outdoor living space or patio, use in a Japanese garden, or customize for commercial applications. You can customize one of our existing pagoda designs with custom dimensions and finishes, or we can design one especially for you. These works of art are sure to be a conversation starter no matter where you place them. Gazebos are structurally sound and designed to withstand the elements. They are best if installed on cement footings or a cement patio. Contact us to discuss site preparation options. Installation by Invictus Steelworks is available, site prep and any required permits are the responsibility of the buyer.
This gazebo features hollow core steel sculpted legs and a curved two piece roof with a rain guard edge. This unique pagoda was installed at a mountaintop residence in Colorado.
Inspired to incorporate his lift-chair, this ski enthusiast had us design and build this custom gazebo for his Utah home.
Gallery Quality Sculpture, Metal Statement Art and Birdbaths
Creating gallery quality metal sculpture is one of Robert Simmon's many talents. All of his fine art works are one of a kind, handcrafted original designs, made in the USA. In addition to both large scale art work and table top statement art, Invictus Steelworks offer a unique line of artistic birdbaths that are made to order and can be customized. Finished sculptural works are sold as is and cannot be modified. Contact us to commission a custom metal sculpture or metal statement art.
“It matters not how strait the gate, How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate,
I am the captain of my soul.”
Excerpt From Invictus, William Ernest Henley
“It is clear by the quality of Robert’s work, and passion with which he and Beth partner with the clients, that these words ring true and can be seen in every piece of functional art Robert creates.” – Tanglewood Conservatories, Denton, Maryland
Robert Simmons on Inspiration and being a steel artist and metal sculptor
“The least interesting thing about me, particularly as a furniture designer, is that I don’t have any formal training,” Robert says. “There is beauty and inspiration all around us, everything from the Eiffel Tower to a certain curve of an old car, to the seemingly insignificant details of turn of the century buildings on Main Street, USA. I see things every day, small details, and I catalog them in my head. I don’t even realize I’m doing it, until I see reflections of them in new designs, presented in a new way.”
While he always had a passion for creating beautiful things, Simmons spent almost 25 years in industrial welding before opening Invictus Steelworks with his wife in 2015. As a certified welder, Simmons worked all over the United States. Over the course of his career, Robert welded in the open mines of Nevada in the hot, desert sun, and in the bitter sub-zero temperature of the mines of Northern Wyoming in the winter. He’s erected bridges and buildings out west, and welded water pipes 200 feet below ground in Maryland. He also worked for some years as a crab fisherman on the Bering Sea, and repaired boats in the off season in Alaska. It's these and other experiences that he draws on, that inspire him to create metal furniture art and sculpture, unique bird baths, and his luxury gazebos.
In addition to drawing on his life experiences, Robert also relies on his imagination for design inspiration. An avid reader, he often finds himself imagining what a room in a story might look like if it were real, based on the author's description. His favorite era for inspiration is the Victorian era, which includes his all time favorite author, Charles Dickens. What furniture might be in a particular room? What artwork? When his wife needed a desk, he was inspired by Dickens' "Great Expectations". That was the story of Miss Havesham, a spinster who had been jilted at the alter. She spent the rest of her days wearing her wedding gown and one shoe, as she was when she discovered there would be no wedding, locked away in her dilapidated mansion. Robert envisioned what a room in that mansion might look like, and if there was a desk, what might a desk in a Victorian mansion look like? And with that vision in mind, he built his wife a one of a kind Victorian inspired desk, shown below.
