Pittstburgh art gallery will transform visitors’ perception of wood

 “Transformation 7: Contemporary Works in Wood”

Various Artists

Society for Contemporary…  “Transformation 7: Contemporary Works in Wood”

Various Artists

Society for Contemporary Craft

2100 Smallman St.

412.261.7003

If you think contemporary crafts are just cute projects for Girl Scouts and grandmas, think again.

Artists featured in the Society for Contemporary Crafts exhibit, “Transformation 7: Contemporary Works in Wood,” take the art of crafting to a whole new level.

This crafted wood is not as simple as the coat rack you made in your ninth-grade wood-shop class. Instead, these works of art use ordinary supplies to expand creative ideas and reinvent the use of common materials.

“Most people think of wood as restrictive, hard and difficult to work with, but a lot of the work in the show expresses how fluid the wood can be,” Kati Fishbein, the exhibition coordinator, said.

The exhibit begins Oct. 16 and runs through Jan. 2.

“Transformation 7” features 24 artists from across the country and one from Pittsburgh, Ron Layport.

 “Transformation 7” is the society’s seventh biannual exhibition. The title “Transformation” reflects the beliefs of the society’s founder, Elizabeth R. Raphael.

“[Raphael] really believed in the ability of artwork to change lives, to change the way you think about the world and to be transformative. Materials can become transformed into artwork and artwork can transform people,” Fisbein said.

The winner of the 2009 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize will be announced at a public wine reception Oct. 23.

Honorable mentions and merit award recipients will be recognized as well. The Raphael Prize winner will receive $5,000 in cash and a purchased award.  

Some noteworthy pieces from this exhibit include “Days of Summer by the Pond” by sculptor Christian Burchard of Ashland, Ore. The creamy-white, torso-shaped wall sculpture is made from madrone burl, a large outgrowth from the root of a tree.

Katie Hundall, a sculptor from Richmond, Va., experiments with a more unusual construction in her piece, “Symbiosis No. 1: Table with Drawer.” Unlike Burchard’s use of raw natural materials, Hundall uses materials found in Dumpsters and wood-shop scrap bins. She does not leave the wood unaltered. Instead, she draws pieces of hardware on its surface, making flat surfaces appear functional.

Independent furniture designer Matthias Pliessnig, used computer-aided drafting to create his work, “Waive.” He first produced a scaffolding-like basis with a computer numerical-controlled machine and shaped the wood around the form. The chair undulates at the sides and curves laterally, exemplifying the wood’s flexibility.

 The art is judged by a board of two experts in the field, the exhibition director, Kate Lydon, and Elizabeth R. Raphael’s daughters, Catherine, Alexandra and Margaret. 

The internationally renowned furniture maker Craig Nutt is a member of the jury and also has his own collection of works, “Cornography,” displayed at the society’s “EAT: An Art Space About Food” exhibit.

Fishbein said the caliber of competition is higher than in previous years and so, “A prize-winning piece exemplifies the meaning of transformation.”

In addition to offering guided tours, the society gives patrons the opportunity to evaluate some of the work for themselves in a “Be the Jury” program.

Fishbein explains this program is designed “for people who might not be experts on art and may not understand why it’s important and what makes it art.”

A tour guide pulls a piece by a previous winner from the society’s permanent collection and explains to the group why the piece won and what aesthetic qualities it employs. Based on what they learn, the patrons go out and choose their own prize-winners.

Fishbein believes this is a very eye-opening experience for the patrons.

“Some people think, ‘Oh I could make that,’ but when they learn about the construction and how it’s actually made, it’s a little more impressive,” she said.

The day after the reception, the society will welcome the public to a dialogue with the artists from noon to 2 p.m. A talk by the winning artist will immediately follow.

The society’s studio also will offer a sushi-plate workshop by woodworker Brian Ferrell titled, “From Rough Wood to Raw Fish,” on Oct. 18 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. After an introduction to carving, the class will break for lunch and make sushi with a chef from “Right by Nature”.