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Sunday, September 05, 2010

Craft of high skill becomes art Furniture exhibit leaves no doubt about artistic vision

By Wesley Pulkka
For the Journal
          An exhibition titled "New Mexico Furniture Is Art" may well settle a very old argument regarding the demarcation between art and craft. The art of furniture making in New Mexico reaches back before the colonial period, and this exhibit covers that history while pushing beyond cultural boundaries.
        Alongside traditional pine blanket chests, myriad chairs, kitchen cabinetry, a child's potty chair and a variety of tables are several unexpected works of pure imagination.
        Chris Sandoval offers a contemporary blanket chest inspired by the King Tut show he visited in Chicago during the early 1980s. The timeless design in perfectly finished Honduran mahogany echoes the past while being one of the most modern pieces in the show.
        In contrast, Andres Martinez's elaborately carved trastero is a traditional design taken to the height of complexity through the artist's skill set. The pine, stained-glass and wrought-iron kitchen cupboard is filled with painstaking detail, from the lunettes to the handmade hardware.
        Many of the pieces in the show reflect the marriage of utility and the sacred, but none more so than "Last Supper Table and Chairs," a tour de force in craftsmanship by Roberto Gonzales, Robert Gonzales II and Desmond James Gonzales. The huge table and 13 chairs are fit for the King of Kings and his disciples. Each chair back features a hand-painted portrait of Christ or one of his disciples. The generously chip-carved table top is beautifully finished.
        This is a breathtaking act of love by three skillful artists that exquisitely weds traditional New Mexican furniture making with the santero tradition.
        There are other surprises like the excellently executed small Empire-style chair by Luis Tapia, an artist and santero known for his over-the-top sculpture that pushes traditional boundaries. The Empire-style of furniture design was popular in France, England and the United States during the 1840s and is a relatively late influence on New Mexican design. But Tapia's Empire-style chair is a study in simplicity of design and fine workmanship.
        The gold star for nontraditional furniture has to go to Damian Velasquez, who steps into the fray with "Purple Chair" in powder coated steel, "Don't Fall Down" in maple and steel and two other works made from expanded steel mesh.
        Velasquez's "Purple Chair" with its heroic size would make a great stage piece for Lily Tomlin's depiction of the petulant little girl Edith Ann. Velasquez's skillfully welded and finished giant chair follows a traditional style into a theatrical realm.
        His "Don't Fall Down" chest of drawers in steel and stained maple takes its inspiration from Donald Judd and Sol LeWitt with a couple of hints from David Smith. The stack of five drawers sports two drawers offset to the right of center. The piece is at once dynamic and minimalist in design.
        Velasquez began his career as a jewelry maker at age 12. He went on to learn welding while employed building chile roasters. He combines early experiences with a great imagination and skill in woodworking to make wonderful objects. He is a great example of a furniture craftsman who is undeniably an artist.
        There are many more well-crafted works made by generations of craftsman in the show. One very nice touch is a photo wall mural depicting the inside of a furniture maker's shop. The shot includes tools and materials that put the viewer inside the world of the artisan. You can almost smell the sawdust.
        My beef with the installation is its arrangement by type of object rather than by artist. Though it's interesting to see how many varieties there are of each form such as cupboards, tables, blanket chests, chairs, etc., I would have enjoyed seeing the entire range of objects made by each artist or family.
        If you pine for wood and excellent craftsmanship, however, don't miss the show.
       

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