June 23 – September 7, 2006
“New Work by Faculty,” an exhibition of furniture, woodturnings, and carvings by instructors at the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship, opened on June 23rd at the Rockport school’s Messler Gallery.
Peter Korn, the school’s director, describes the show as “luminous work from a cast of dubious characters who happen to be some of the finest makers in the world,” The troupe includes 24 woodworkers from as far afield as New Zealand, Australia, and England, and as close to home as Union, Appleton, and Camden.
“This is virtuoso woodworking,” commented Bruce Brown, curator of the nearby Center for Maine Contemporary Art, “equally at home in a museum or a living room.”
In fact, many of the makers on display have international reputations and their work is represented in major museum collections, such as those of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts.
One of the pieces in the show, a walnut sideboard by Union, Maine furniture maker Jerry Curry is currently featured on the back cover of the August issue of Fine Woodworking magazine. Another, the Shakyamuni Buddha, is carved by British master carver Chris Pye, whose clients include HRH the Prince of Wales.
Stylistically, the exhibition presents a diversity of aesthetics, from traditionally-inspired tables and chairs to highly sculptural contemporary pieces. This diversity reflects the dynamism of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s curriculum, which encourages each student to find his or her own creative voice without imposing any sort of orthodoxy from above.
