Thrown for a loop
Every once in a while, somebody creates a series that, for reasons unknown, really strikes something inside me. That’s the case with the furniture of bent-lamination wizard Kino Guérin.
I’m not a big fan of artistic furniture… except when I am. No, seriously; it’s just not a furniture form that tops my list of favorite design styles. But every once in a while, somebody creates a series that, for reasons unknown, really strikes something inside me.
That’s the case with the furniture of bent-lamination wizard Kino Guérin of Melbourne, Québec. A week or two ago I spotted a photo of his “Looping Bench” online which you can see in the top row in the combined image below. It intrigued me so much that I did a reverse-image search to learn more about it, and about the maker.
Kino began making furniture right out of college, and in the 25 years since has continued to craft some of the most interestingly designed — and painstakingly laminated — furniture ever since. Lots of benches, but also desks, shelves, and a variety of tables, all made with curves, bends and twists that make them look fluid.
His work ranges from small side tables and benches to the seven-foot “Phoenix Dining Table” in the image above. His pricing runs from $420 for a small hanging shelf, to $18,000 for the “Looping Bench.” The “Phoenix Dining Table” goes for $28,000.
He sells his work all over the world. When taking commissions, customers can choose the type of hardwood veneer they like — oak, cherry, maple walnut, ash and more. Kino uses several North American hardwoods, a lot of it literally home-grown.
“I recently started to draw some of this resource directly from the nature that surrounds me,” he notes on his website, adding that the process of cutting old and dead trees himself is more involved than just buying it from a supplier, but more rewarding. “I like working with material that I have seen alive. I like shaping it and see its transformation step-by-step; transformation that will make it a useful work of art.”
And maybe that’s part of the key to why I like his artistic furniture pieces so much, while others don’t do a lot for me: it’s useful. So much art furniture, while beautiful and awe-inspiring in its craftsmanship, isn’t really intended to see a lot of actual use. Although museum-quality art, Kino’s pieces belong, and should be used, in a home.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
