December 7, 2007
The Coleman Center for the Arts is pleased to present the exhibition Handmade: WOOD. Curated by Nathan Purath, the show features the work of Alabama artists James Cockrell, Dale Lewis, Christopher McNulty, Bobby Michelson, Kimberly Sotelo, and Craig Wedderspoon. The show will be on display from December 7th through January 25th, and the opening reception will take place on Friday, December 7th from 6 to 8 PM. The event is free and open to the public and all are welcome. Please join us for the celebration!
Handmade: WOOD features a broad spectrum of work made with the common material of wood. Ranging from traditional to unconventional furniture, large-scale conceptual sculpture, and abstract works, the show points to the importance of this everyday material in the lives, culture, and economy of our region.
James Cockrell, who works and lives in nearby Livingston, Ala., makes rustic furniture out of willow branches and other re-purposed and found materials. He utilizes multiple textures including raw bark, smoothly finished wood, and rusty metal. His pieces in the show include a never seen before Cockrell rocking chair.
Dale Lewis is well known for his unique furniture. His work is colorful, animated, and whimsical. While highly sculptural his items are also functional and include benches, tables, cabinets and chairs. Many of the objects take on specific characters or identities ranging from fanciful creatures to rockets and jukeboxes. Lewis currently lives and works in Oneonta, Ala..
Christopher McNulty’s conceptual pieces are keenly aware of process. Wood is a frequent material in his work, which focuses on “fundamental processes of science and mathematics: quantification, addition, division, measurement, mapping, and reproduction.” McNulty strives to achieve a perfect and unattainable ideal through implementing these repetitive processes. The work has an obvious tension between the natural and industrial and human force and mechanization. McNulty is currently a professor of art at Auburn University.
Bobby Michelson’s furniture uses both traditional and contemporary techniques. Functional pieces such as benches, chairs, and shelves use dynamic and unconventional shapes. Michelson allows the particular grain and details of the materials to influence each individual form. Michelson works in a studio in downtown Birmingham, Ala..
Kimberly Sotelo lives and works in Auburn, Ala.. While also a visual artist, Sotelo is well-known as a furniture maker. Her various chairs and tables utilize primarily sapling willow branches. The furniture is intricately formed of smaller elements combined into bold contemporary forms.
Craig Wederspoon’s work consists of large-scale abstract wood sculptures. Strong formal elements dictate the work, activating a play between positive and negative space. His statement declares, “Sculpture itself is visual philosophy existing in the context of three dimensions, constantly issuing aesthetic challenges towards interpretation, perspective, analysis, and approach.” Wedderspoon is currently a professor of sculpture at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Purath wanted the show to present an unconventional range of objects. “Because wood is such a significant part of the economy and culture in our area, I thought it would be interesting to consider something as simple as a chair in the same view as a conceptual sculpture, and all the things that fall in between those two ends.” The show does just that, providing a unique look at artists from around the state.
This exhibition is made possible in part by funds from the Alabama State Council on the Arts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the generous contributions of our individual supporters. The Coleman Center also receives support from the Andy Warhol Foundation for the Visual Arts, the Black Belt Community Foundation, the Community Foundation of West Alabama, the Chattanooga Bakery, the Drummond Corporation, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Puffin Foundation, Prystup Packaging Products, the Sumter County Fine Arts Council, and York Drug Inc..
For more information please contact the Coleman Center for the Arts, 205-393-2005, or visit www.colemanarts.org.