Woodworkers from Bucks County and beyond go against the grain in a juried show at New Hope Arts Center.
By: Jillian Kalonick
The ketchup packets in "The Kneeler" keep mysteriously disappearing.
Andrew Wilkinson’s intricately crafted piece, which is on view as part of the national juried exhibition Works in Wood at New Hope Arts Center, is made of, according to its label, "walnut, aluminum and ketchup." "The Kneeler" incorporates the arches of McDonald’s, the Nike Swoosh and the Coca-Cola wave. Its burgundy colored velvet cushion is embroidered with "Guldsveinen" (the name of the artistic collaboration between Mr. Wilkinson and his partner, Monika Broz). The ketchup packets that are supposed to be stashed inside were likely swiped by a gallery goer, says Robin Larsen of New Hope Arts perhaps someone thought they were garbage?
"The Kneeler" was created to accompany another Guldsveinen work not included in the exhibition, "My God, It’s Good!," a print depicting a table packed with Pillsbury Doughboys "starring in a surreal interpretation of the Last Supper, catered by McDonald’s." Mr. Wilkinson is a student of Mark Sfirri, whose work is featured in the show, and the two artists will give a gallery talk at New Hope Arts Center Dec. 16. Works in Wood, featuring 125 pieces by 43 artists (all for sale), continues through Dec. 31.
Mr. Wilkinson, a resident of Titusville and creative director of the photography and design company Wilkinson Media, says "The Kneeler" goes along with a theme he and Ms. Broz have been working in. "Monika’s from Poland and I’m from England, and we see things in the States differently (than Americans)," he says. "For a long time our work was concerned with excessive consumption in the States." As designers of logos, packaging and advertisements, "It’s kind of obvious for us to poke fun at corporations."
The work of Wilkinson Media is familiar to anyone who’s been lured by their designs to visit the Trenton Film Festival, Patriots’ Week, Gallery 125 in Trenton, and Occasions in New Hope, Pa. On the creative side, Mr. Wilkinson and Ms. Broz have exhibited works throughout New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, and currently their works are included in Tropicalisms, a group show at the Jersey City Museum. For "The Kneeler," the duo came up with the idea of "religious furniture," and because of Mr. Wilkinson’s woodworking skills, he was able to create the piece in only seven days. His other piece in Works in Wood, "Wooden Flag," is made from the exotic woods paduk, pau amarillo and purple heart, as well as aluminum stars, and is a detailed reproduction.
"I was kind of thinking of how America is viewed in the political climate… It turned into something really kitschy," he says. "It was quite a feat to reproduce, since it’s hand-carved."
Works in Wood features furniture, sculpture and pieces that fall somewhere in between like "The Kneeler." Local woodworkers featured include Mira Nakashima of Nakashima Studios, Phillip Lloyd Powell of New Hope and Jeffrey Greene of Greene & Greene Gallery of Lambertville.
"Typically a wood show would be furniture or sculpture, and this has quite a variety," says Mr. Sfirri. "There is more functional furniture, more artistic furniture, pure sculpture and turned objects." His piece, "Rejects from the Bat Factory," is a rack of five baseball bats that would definitely pass inspection from anyone who has ever used a lathe. The growths and knots on the bats were created by using multi-axis turning, says Mr. Sfirri, which involves turning some parts on one center, then reshifting the center to turn another part.
"Rejects from the Bat Factory," made from ash (the bats) and poplar (the rack) is part of a series of playful interpretations of bats that Mr. Sfirri began in 1993. "When my son was 7 he asked me to turn him a bat that had a hollow in the end of it, because a major leaguer had one," he says. "I decided to turn him one, and after that I thought about how it was a purely elegant form, strictly based on function, and it would be interesting to superimpose shapes in it."
Mr. Sfirri, a resident of New Hope, is an associate professor of fine woodworking at Bucks County Community College, where he has taught since 1981. This year his work has been included in 20 exhibitions throughout the U.S., and he recently won the curator’s award in the national juried exhibition Craft Forms 2006 at the Wayne Arts Center in Wayne, Pa. His bats have been exhibited at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Kentucky.
With "Rejects from the Bat Factory," "the intention is to create an object that’s humorous, but each work takes on a slightly skewed character," he says. "My basic philosophy is to superimpose techniques for forming woodworks onto common objects. I’ve also done rolling pins and candlesticks. Another aspect that I’m trying to bring to life is that sometimes as a society we treasure things that are mistakes, and other times we frown on them."
Works in Wood continues at New Hope Arts Center, 2 Stockton Ave., New Hope,
Pa., through Dec. 31. Hours: Thurs.-Sun. noon-5 p.m. Mark Sfirri and Andrew Wilkinson
will give a gallery talk Dec. 16, 7 p.m. For information, call (215) 862-9606.
On the Web: www.newhopeartsinc.org.
Andrew Wilkinson on the Web: www.guldsveinen.com,
www.wilkinsonmedia.net

