In our July exhibition, Blossoms of Current, guest artist Matthew C. Martin’s collection pushes the boundaries of science and contemporary art by utilizing electrical anodizing on titanium, a high-performance industrial metal. While the electrochemical process of creating a colorful oxide layer through controlled electrical currents is typically reserved for advanced aerospace and biomedical manufacturing, Martin has masterfully adapted the technique to create detailed, painterly works of art. By pairing this technical chemical process with traditional hand-engraving, Martin crafts vibrant, luminous floral compositions directly onto titanium plates. Brilliant, shifting hues emerge directly from the metallic surface, while the meticulously hand-engraved textures are visually amplified by the vivid oxide layers.

Q: What is anodized titanium? 

Matthew: Anodizing applies an electrical current to titanium, forming a colorful oxide layer on the surface. The voltage of the current determines the exact hue. While the process is typically used in aerospace and biomedical industries to enhance titanium's technical properties, in the body of work included in Blossoms of Current I used it purely as an artistic medium.

Q: How does the formation of color work in this process? 

Matthew: The oxide layer causes destructive interference with incoming light rays. Its thickness determines which wavelengths are absorbed, producing the visible color. At 150 volts, the oxide layer is approximately 200 nanometers thick — about 1/500th the thickness of a human hair.

Q: What colors are possible? 

Matthew: The spectrum is limited. The main colors missing are red and orange, and there is no true ability to produce gray or black. White is effectively achieved with raw, un-anodized titanium.

Q: How are multiple colors created in one piece? 

Matthew: Colors must be applied in a planned sequence from highest voltage to lowest. A thicker (higher voltage) oxide layer will overwrite a thinner one, but a thinner layer will not alter a thicker one already in place. Two main techniques are used to control this: masking areas before anodizing, and physically abrading away an existing oxide layer before re-anodizing at a lower voltage.

Q: Can colors be blended or faded? 

Matthew: Not with masking alone, which produces only crisp, distinct boundaries. Blending and fading are possible through the oxide removal technique — selectively scraping away portions of a higher voltage layer before applying a lower voltage color.

Q: What are the biggest challenges? 

Matthew: Surface cleanliness is critical — even a fingerprint causes discoloration in the oxide layer. Air bubbles on the surface during anodizing cause spots of inconsistency and must be cleared manually. At high voltages, the presence of chlorides or sulfates in the chemical solutions causes pitting corrosion. Larger pieces introduce additional complications around power supply strength, chemical handling, and color consistency across a large surface area.

Q: Can you take us through the anodizing process step by step? 

Matthew: The titanium surface is cleaned of all oils and residue, a masking stencil may be applied, the piece is exposed to an etching solution to remove the existing invisible oxide layer, thoroughly rinsed, then introduced to the electrolytic bath where electrical current is applied. Once the oxide layer forms, the electricity is turned off, the piece is removed and cleaned, and the color application is complete.