In something as simple as a column of basalt, Bend artist Andrew Wachs finds satisfaction with the sublimity of shape and form.

Think straight lines and sharp angles. Dark dihedrals throwing long shadows.

Wachs is a sculptor but not in the traditional vein. His medium is metal. Cold steel, which he cuts and bends, grinds and welds. Wachs doesn’t forge or cast, and his shop lacks wood or clay.

Wachs fabricates his pieces, but with a sculptor’s eye for the aesthetic.

On display at Thump Coffee in downtown Bend (see “If You Go”) are several different works of Wachs that explore his fascination with form, design and the frills-free ethos of minimalism.

The pieces in his “Columnar Series” are two-dimensional frames filled with three-dimensional jumbles of welded steel. The welds, however, are either hidden or have been grinded off, giving the pieces a sleek look unmarred by the maker’s hand.

There are also several pieces inspired not by nature but by industrial design. The “Vent” works are flat panels of steel with small triangular pieces of steel attached to the surface. The panels are painted, and contrast with the sheen of the polished metal vents.

Another series is the result of Wachs’ work with break form, a process for bending sheet metal. Wachs mounts metal he has bent to form right angles inside of a two-dimensional frame.

The pieces are flat when viewed from the side but full of perpendicular upheaval when viewed from the front.

Wachs also has several freestanding works on display. Tall, sleek and smooth, they resemble models of futuristic skyscrapers. Their inspiration, however, were the same columns of basalt that inspired his “Columnar Series.”

“It’s such an interesting shape,” said Wachs. “Visually compelling.”

Wachs also likes columns of basalt — dark gray volcanic rock ubiquitous in Central Oregon — for its shadows. They create a sharp contrast between negative and positive space, Wachs said, which he tries to incorporate into his pieces.

“The columns cast shadows, and those stick out, like reverse negatives,” said Wachs. “It’s interesting because I’m taking a negative and turning it into a positive.”

Wachs credits his curious nature for the variety of ideas and approaches on display, although he faults himself for indulging his curiosity rather than focusing on one style and sticking with it.

However, Wachs is always tempted by new ideas. He works as a furniture designer and builder as well as a manufacturer of craft metalwork. Some of his metalwork visible around town include the counter in Thump Coffee and the fence surrounding the garbage collection area in the parking lot at the Old Mill Marketplace.

“I’m not as concerned with being successful with a style of work but with the journey of the investigation,” said the artist.

Wachs, 39, is a native of Portland. He studied fine art and sculpture at Western Washington University in Bellingham, Wash., and later worked in the Bay Area with a specialty design firm. Wachs helped draw and build modernistic lobbys for cash-rich dot-coms, including Google Inc.’s old San Francisco headquarters.

Wachs moved back to Bend shortly after the dot-com crash (he had lived in Bend for a spell during the ’90s) and set up his own design and metal fabrication shop. He is also one of the creators of Bend’s newest roundabout sculpture, the dragline bucket and submerged crane — titled “Ghost” — that adorns the roundabout at Bond Street and Wilson Avenue in the Old Mill District.

Although he considers himself a sculptor, Wachs feels the allure of architecture tugging him toward larger projects, such as structures. But it’s still art to Wachs, who is grateful he can combine the two.

“I’m fortunate I get to bring my art into the practical world,” he said.

For more of Wachs’ work, visit www.welddesignstudio.com.

IF YOU GO

What: Metal art by Andrew Wachs

When: Through September

Where: Thump Coffee, 25 N.W. Minnesota Ave., Bend

Cost: Free

Contact: 388-0226