Ashly Sanford
Ashly Sanford

Porcelain Series

Color Systems & Digital-to-Physical Fabrication

 
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Project Overview

A series of monumental mirror-polished stainless-steel sculptures finished using layered transparent automotive paint systems.
I served as Project Lead for color development, designing and managing the complete digital-to-physical workflow to ensure accurate translation from the artist’s original model to final fabrication.

Role

  • Color system design and execution

  • Digital repainting and rendering

  • Masking strategy and fabrication translation

  • Team leadership and on-site production oversight

Final Production Render

Intent: Fidelity to the Original Form

The primary goal of the project was to preserve the artist’s original form and color intent with extreme accuracy.
All digital systems were developed to ensure that color placement, edge behavior, and surface transitions in the final sculpture matched the approved digital model as closely as possible.

Final Sculpture Installed at Gagosian Gallery, New York

High-Resolution Source Data

Final high-resolution scan data was used as the foundation for all color development.
This data was remeshed into render-ready geometry and prepared specifically for color transfer, repainting, and fabrication planning, ensuring continuity between scanned form, digital model, and physical output.

 
 
 

UV & Color Transfer Systems

The sculptures were UV-mapped using large-scale UDIM layouts to support high-resolution color work across complex curved surfaces.
This structure allowed color information derived from photogrammetry and repainting to transfer cleanly and consistently across the full form.

 

Digital Repainting & Transparent Layering System

Each sculpture was fully repainted digitally using a custom workflow designed to replicate the physical process of layered transparent automotive paint.

Color layers were built sequentially to resolve:

  • Total number of colors

  • Layer order and dependencies

  • Hue, value, and edge behavior

This system allowed digital decisions to reliably predict physical outcomes on mirror-polished stainless steel.

 

Rendering & Visual Convergence

Final renders represented the resolved visual intent of each sculpture.
Geometry, color systems, and surface behavior were unified to ensure that the digital model functioned as an accurate reference for physical execution.

 

Masking Systems & Fabrication Translation

Approved digital color regions were translated into physical masking strategies.
Each layer was individually analyzed and broken down to define precise boundaries, transitions, and edge characteristics.

Masking approaches included:

  • Spline-based boundary definitions

  • Laser projection layouts

  • Vinyl masking

  • Custom 3D-printed, form-fitting masks

Production Oversight & Final Outcome

I led a small in-house team and coordinated closely between the artist and fabrication partners throughout production.
This included on-site oversight to address technical challenges and ensure alignment between digital intent and physical execution.

 

Porcelain Series
Project Lead, Color Development & Digital Fabrication Systems

 

Stag and Dog

20 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

Venus

34 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

Diana

59 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

 

Hercules

34 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

Kissing Lovers

37 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

Three Graces

23 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

Fox with Bird

15 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel

 

Eros

31 layered transparent hues, mirror-polished stainless steel