Metal sculptors employ ingenious techniques to create the illusion of tension and suspension in their structures, transforming rigid materials into seemingly weightless forms. One primary method involves careful weight distribution, where artists strategically position heavier elements to counterbalance extended sections, creating visual tension. Many sculptors use cantilevered designs that extend horizontally without vertical support, relying on precise engineering to maintain stability while suggesting precariousness.

The choice of materials significantly impacts these effects. Thin, tapered metal rods can appear to barely support massive forms, while polished surfaces reflect light in ways that enhance the perception of movement. Some artists intentionally leave visible stress points or imperfect welds to heighten the sense of structural tension. Kinetic elements take this further, with suspended components that actually move with air currents, creating real-time suspension effects.

Advanced techniques include hollow construction to reduce weight, internal armatures for hidden support, and strategic oxidation to make newer sections appear to pull against aged components. Contemporary sculptors often combine metals with tension cables or transparent materials to enhance the suspension illusion. The most successful works play with viewers' expectations of gravity and material properties, creating compositions that appear perpetually on the verge of movement or collapse while remaining perfectly balanced.