September Issue 1999
The Chair Show 3 Opens at the Folk Art Center in Asheville
The Southern Highland Craft Guild is pleased to announce the
opening of the third biennial Chair Show at the Folk Art
Center in Asheville, NC, Sept. 5 - Nov. 15. First conceived by
the Guild in 1995, The Chair Show 3 is a national, juried
exhibition of handmade chairs, surveying approaches to a furniture
form which has surrounded and supported our daily lives since
the dawn of civilization, The 35 chairs chosen for The Chair
Show 3 represent the work of craftspeople and designers from
21 states. As in both previous shows, some of the country's best
known chairmakers have been chosen for this celebrated exhibition.
Invented to help ease the human condition of walking upright,
some form of receptacle for the human hind quarters has been in
use since the early Egyptians, perhaps longer. Because sitting
in a chair is not actually necessary for survival, the invention
of the chair is said to symbolize the beginning of western civilization.
Examples of historic chairs in the show include Moorseville, NC,
chairmaker Walt Schwinning's Writing Arm Windsor. This
useful 18th century design has a writing surface and drawer attached
to one arm. Built with hand tools from start to finish, this particular
design also has a second drawer beneath the seat. Another historic,
18th century design is an elegant Queen Anne style Mahogany
Corner Chair by John Higgenbotham of Centreville, MD. The
upholstered seat is diamond-shaped to fit in a corner, and the
back curves around the 90 degree angle, displaying many hand-carved
details.
Design ideas in The Chair Show 3 go beyond western civilization
in scope. Although African civilization has a history of short
stools rather than chairs, Dean Pulver of El Prado, NM, captures
the flavor of African art in his hand-carved walnut chair titled
Africa. Woodworker Po Shun Leong of Winnetka, CA, utilizes
a European icon in her Pisa Chair. The back of her maple
chair has window-like holes and leans out, not just for comfort,
but to replicate the exact posture of Italy's Leaning Tower of
Pisa.
Sometimes the true function of a chair is symbolic, rather than
practical. Amanda Butler of Bowling Green, OH, created Grandmother's
Throne, not to seat any grandmother, but rather to celebrate
the things identified with her. The throne's cushion is covered
with buttons, and behind it, a four-foot pair of wooden scissors
serves as both chair leg and back. Metalsmith Sharon Maxwell-Conser
of Grand Prairie, TX, rebuilds memories of her childhood in her
cast metal miniature chair, entitled Rock-a-by-Baby. Her
recollections of watching birds construct their nests and her
grandpa rocking her in a chair inspired this twig-like rocker
with a nest for a seat. Don't be tempted to sit down to read in
Palo Pallas' Reading Chair with Ottoman, either. This Birmingham,
AL, artist's chair also functions on a symbolic level; it stands
only 14 inches tall and is upholstered with the opened pages of
paperback books.
Other chairs in The Chair Show 3 are designed with sitters'
comfort in mind, and beckon to be sat upon. Although there is
a no touching (or sitting!) policy in the Main Gallery, visitors
may be truly tempted to curl up in the deep softness of Peter
Handler's Caruso armchair. With its graciously stuffed
wood frame and soft upholstery, one can easily imagine themselves
absorbed in relaxation, remote control in hand, supported by four
elegant, lathe-turned aluminum chair legs. Kerry Verper of Tempe,
AZ, is another who's design intent includes the sitter's comfort.
His Chair #13 is made from layers of natural wood, which
he carves, grinds and sands. The stacked and compressed wood become
arms, legs, and the bucket seat gracefully accommodates the human
form.
Jurors for The Chair Show 3 are three distinguished professionals
in design and craft. Martha Stamm Connell is the owner and director
of Connell Gallery in Atlanta, GA. She has served as guest curator
of craft exhibitions for museums and is a noted lecturer on fine
craft around the country. Kenneth Trapp is Curator-in-Charge of
the Renwick Gallery, National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian
Institution, and oversees the nation's collection of contemporary
American craft. He is widely published and frequently lectures
on craft and craft criticism. Wood sculptor Bob Trotman began
as a furniture maker over twenty years ago and became famous for
making objects which combined furniture components with elements
of the human figure. His work is included in many public and private
collections, most notably the NC State's Gallery of Art and Design,
The American Craft Museum and The Renwick Gallery of the Nation
Museum of American Art.
Furniture importer and manufacturer Charles Stendig witnessed
a lifetime of chair forms when combing the globe for his furniture
company, Stendig, Inc. Twenty years ago he was quoted with the
assumption, "To make a new chair, a different chair... is
an extremely difficult task, and it gets tougher as time goes
on... Every form and technique possible has been used..."
After experiencing the vitality of today's craft, organizers of
The Chair Show 3 are given plenty of proof to the contrary.
Whether striking out with fresh new designs or demonstrating skilled
artistry in existing forms. Chair Show 3 participants testify
that American chair making is alive and thriving with innovation.
For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings
or call the center at 828/298-7928.
Mailing Address: Carolina Arts, P.O. Drawer 427, Bonneau, SC
29431
Telephone, Answering Machine and FAX: 843/825-3408
E-Mail: carolinart@aol.com
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