Refinish paint company Cromax has added colour to the work of renowned American artist Seward Johnson. His bronze sculpture of the famous embrace between a US sailor and a nurse on the day WWII ended in 1945, Embracing Peace, was unveiled in Portsmouth earlier this year, where it is on loan to Portsmouth Historic Dockyard from The Seward Johnson Atelier for one year as part of the commemorations for the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings.

For over 50 years, Johnson has been creating life-scale and monumental bronze sculptures that are between six and nine metres tall. His works depict not only famous icons, including Marilyn Monroe, but also ordinary people doing ordinary things. Embracing Peace is part of the sculptor’s Icons Revisited. 

In 1981, The Seward Johnson Atelier began to use Cromax products to paint the sculptures, which are all designed to be installed outdoors where they are at the mercy of the elements and intense public interaction. Nearly forty years later, Cromax is still the brand of choice for this artist. The team at The Seward Johnson Atelier are kept up to date with products and technological developments by the brand’s technical team.

Autin Wright, Supervisor of Paint, Patina, and Conservation at The Johnson Atelier, says, “We chose Cromax because of the flexibility, versatility and durability of the products, which sync with every step of our process. Although we are using these products to paint public sculptures rather than cars, we know we can rely on Cromax to achieve the results that we need.”

As well as Cromax Basecoat, The Seward Johnson Atelier uses a variety of Cromax primers, surfacers and clears as well as colour additives to achieve the spectacular skin tones and colour effects.

Jodie Henly, Marketing Specialist for Axalta in the UK and Ireland, says, “We love to see our products being used in unusual and creative ways. Seward Johnson’s extraordinary sculptures show that Cromax products offer not only the most advanced processes but also are suitable for innovative and complex applications. They offer durability against extreme weather conditions and help these sculptures to continue to look beautiful long after they have been unveiled.”