Across the Grain
A regional exhibition of artists working in wood curated by Mark Sfirri, held in conjunction with Craft Forms 2008.
Featuring works by Peter Basil, Michael Brolly, David Ellsworth, Wharton Esherick, Rachel Fuld, Stephan Goetschius, Susan Hagen, Michael Hurwitz, Ray Kelso, Ben Manns, Mira Nakashima, Brian Paul Kolakowski, Jack Larimore, Don Miller, Mark Sfirri, Bill Smith, Brad Smith, Janice Smith, Shelley Spector, Ward Stevens, Bill Stowe, Jane Sqanson, and Derek Weidman.
MARK SFIRRI CURATOR'S STATEMENT
The focus of this exhibition is the diverse use of wood as a material in the broad and overlapping categories of furniture, sculpture, and woodturning.
The artists selected include students, emerging, and long established artists, in order to showcase work from artists in various stages of their careers. This region is rich in talent, and the roots of the development of the medium of wood are quite deep here.
David Ellsworth is a leader in the growth of woodturning as an art form. He lives in Quakertown, Pennsylvania and in Colorado. His hollow forms are recognized internationally and have inspired a generation of turners.
George Nakashima spent his entire furniture-making career in nearby Solebury, Pennsylvania. His work is characterized by clean lines, by the use of natural edges or the “wane” of the tree, and by decorative, structural “butterflies” to keep the table tops secure and in alignment. His work continues to grow in popularity as important examples of mid-century design. Although Nakashima died in 1990, the Nakashima Studio continues today under the leadership of his daughter, Mira Nakashima-Yarnell, whose own work is seen here as well.
The work of Wharton Esherick represented in the exhibition shows some of the range of the work that he produced in his career. The earliest of the woodcuts and block prints here date back to 1923, and nearly half of them were illustrations in beautiful limited edition books titled Song of the Broad-Axe, Song of Solomon, and Tristram and Iseult, which were produced between 1924 and 1930. Sculpture was his favorite form of expression and we have a few pieces on display, as well as some of his furniture, the medium for which he is best known. All of the Esherick pieces are from the collection of Nat and Rose Rubinson of Merion, Pennsylvania, and collected between 1951 and 1967. I want to thank Geoffrey Berwind, the Rubinson’s grandson, for lending this work.
By including the work of George Nakashima and Wharton Esherick, we’ve provided examples of the foundations of later work, affording the viewer an historical context for the examples in the rest of the exhibition.
ACROSS THE GRAIN EVENTS
DECEMBER 5th, 2008 - JANUARY 24th, 2009 Across the Grain at the Ethel Sergeant Clark Smith Gallery
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14th, 2008 / 1 - 3PM Mark Sfirri lecture on Wharton Esherick
SUNDAY, JANUARY 11th, 2009 / 1 - 3PM Mira Nakashima-Yarnall lecture on George Nakashima
SATURDAY, JANUARY 17th, 2009 / 1 - 3PM Bradford woodworking studio tour
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