Almost Out of the Woods

Almost Out of the Woods, curated by MCD Curator Brett Levine, is a pop-up exhibition of contemporary wood art, featuring works by six innovative San Francisco artists.  The show highlights the Museum’s commitment to contemporary craft and to working with local artists to showcase their creativity.

Using wood as their primary medium, these six artists show the range and diversity of their practice.  Forest Dickey, principal of Varian Designs, focuses on objects that are functional by nature but complex in form.  He uses wood, steel and other natural materials to create works that are beautiful and durable.  Michael Cooper, sculptor and artist, challenges our expectations of the chair, presenting a work that is both functional and surreal.  Adrian Segal uses scientific data to form the foundation of the forms that grace her elegant tables, chairs, drawers, and dressers.  Florian Roeper creates unique collections of tables, benches, and chairs, as well as creating pieces he regards solely as artworks.  Yvonne Mouser pushes the boundaries of wood, sometimes using its byproduct paper to create undulating wall works of painstakingly handcrafted tubes.  Donald Fortescue, woodworker, whittler, and sculptor, challenges our ideas of how works are made with a handcrafted display box of works modeled on collaborative small-scale sculptures.

Each artist explores wood as a primary material, forms it in their own individual way, and creates artworks that highlight the material’s endless potential.  From the forest, they reinterpret the trees, creating works that lead us Almost Out of the Woods.

Photo courtesy of artist, Yvonne Mouser.