Thos. Moser legacy exhibit stops off in Maine
Lighting steals the spotlight at Messler Gallery exhibition
A traveling exhibition, “Thos. Moser: Legacy in Wood”, illustrating the artistic vision of furniture maker Tom Moser is currently on display at Maine State Museum in Augusta, Maine, through Jan. 13, 2018.
“The traveling exhibition is the first retrospective of Tom Moser’s 45-year contribution to art, craft, design, and entrepreneurship in Maine,” curator Donna McNeil said in a statement. “Different pieces of furniture and new styles will be featured. Some pieces made by a new generation of designers, all inspired by Tom Moser’s vision and working at Thos. Moser, Handmade American Furniture, will be highlighted as well.”
In 1972, Tom Moser was a tenured professor at Bates College when he took a year off to make furniture. His company in Auburn, Maine, has grown to over 100 employees and showrooms across the country.
An illuminating exhibit
“Wood and Light: A Survey of Contemporary Lighting Design”, opens Sept. 22 at the Messler Gallery of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship in Rockport, Maine, and runs through Jan. 3, 2008.
Curated by lighting designer Christopher Poehlmann, the exhibition explores wood as a medium for expressing light by presenting work of 23 contemporary designers and makers from seven countries.
The display will feature functional and decorative objects, including table and floor lamps, wall sconces, chandeliers, uplighting, and pendant lighting. Construction methods used include illustrating the translucency of veneer, bent lamination, and CNC cutting.
International exhibitors are Donald Baugh (London); Showroom Finland (Helsinki); Obe & Co. Design (Bells Yew Green, England); Cameron Mathieson (Nelson, British Columbia); Duncan Meerding (Hobart, Tasmania); Peter Pierobon (Vancouver); Marco Stefanelli (Torino, Italy), and David Trubridge (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand).
U.S. exhibitors include Marta Baumiller (Aquebogue, N.Y.); Garry Knox Bennett (Oakland); Peter Bloch (New London, N.H.); McCaw/Budsberg Collaborations (Milwaukee); Susan Casey and Christopher Poehlmann (Philadelphia); Byron Conn (Rochester, N.Y.); Katie Hudnall (Indianapolis); Max Kaplan and Laura Mays (Fort Bragg, Calif.); Julie Morringello (Stonington, Maine); Christy Oates (Fennimore, Wis.); John Procario (Cold Spring, N.Y.); Seth Rolland (Port Townsend, Wash.), and Klara Vavrosy (Bergen, N.H.).
Contacts:
Maine State Museum, 230 State St., Augusta, ME 04330. Tel: 207-287-2301. www.mainestatemuseum.org
Messler Gallery, 25 Mill St., Rockport, ME 04856. Tel: 207-594-5611. www.woodschool.org.
This article originally appeared in the September 2017 issue.
