Philadelphia gallery takes a new turn

The internationally recognized Center for Art in Wood (formerly The Wood Turning Center) has taken on a new name and moved to a new location. Both changes reflect the growing recognition and importance of wood artists and their contemporary works of fine art and craft. Now located at 141 North Third St. in Philadelphia, the center features changing exhibitions, a museum collection, research library and archives, and a museum store.

The center opened its 25th anniversary exhibition, “Turning to Art in Wood: A Creative Journey,” on Nov. 11. More than 100 objects will be displayed through April 21, selected from the center’s collection of more than 1,000 works of art dating from the 1970s. All have been acquired or are promised gifts.

Featured pieces include bowls, wall art, furniture and abstract sculptures. Exhibition curator Gerard Brown, a faculty member at Temple University’s Tyler School of Art, discovered the collection while a resident scholar at the center.

Participating artists include David Ellsworth, Mark Lindquist, Jack Larimore, Michelle Holzapfel, Garry Knox Bennett, Wendy Murayama, Dewey Garrett and John Diamond-Nigh.

The center has published a 284-page limited-edition portfolio publication, numbered and signed by the authors. It includes illustrated essays by Brown, center co-founder Albert LeCoff, Elisabeth Agro, Glenn Adamson, Michelle Hozapfel, Robin Rice and the center’s president Richard R. Goldberg.

Maine Wood 2012

The Messler Gallery, on the campus of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, recently opened the “Maine Wood 2012” exhibition. The biennial juried exhibition, which opened Dec. 2, features works of Maine woodworkers in all genres and will run through April 6.

“The number and quality of submissions were off the scale this year,” says Peter Korn, the center’s executive director. “I only regret that we have exhibition space for just 21 pieces out of the 113 entries. The excellence of the work is a powerful confirmation of the vitality of woodworking in Maine.”

“Maine Wood 2012” is showcasing original work by Maine studio furniture makers, turners, carvers and sculptors that exhibits excellence in craftsmanship and design, uses wood as the primary material and was made within the last five years.

Participating furniture makers include Nick Barboza, Chris Becksvoort, Eben Blaney, David Boyle, Gregory W. Crispell, Gerald Curry, Tom Dahlke, William Doub, Wayne Hall, Kevin Rodel, Jack Rodie, Libby Schrum, Gabriel Sutton, and Peter Turner.

Sculptors, carvers and turners are Clara Cohan, Randy Colbath, Christopher Joyce, William F. Mack, John Moro, Malcolm Ray and Bernice Masse Rosenthal.

The exhibit was juried by Tom Caspar, editor of American Woodworker magazine; Miguel Gomez-Ibanez, president of the North Bennet St. School; and Yuri Kobayashi, instructor at the Rhode Island School of Design.

Contacts

Center for Art in Wood, 141 N. 3rd St., Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 215-923-8000. www.centerforartinwood.org

The Messler Gallery, 25 Mill St., Rockport, ME 04856. Tel: 207-594-5611. www.woodschool.org

This article originally appeared in the January 2012 issue.