A sofa twisted into a knot, a dining table bulging with a roller-coaster-like loop, a massive picnic table curled into a question mark. These shapes don鈥檛 occur naturally鈥攖hey鈥檙e the creations of Assistant Professor Michael Beitz. His hybrid designs blend sculpture and furniture as he manipulates wood into flexible forms that bend, curve and meander in disconnected directions.
Beitz likes to say that he 鈥渟ees鈥� with his hands, by feeling the wood and noting its imperfections. It鈥檚 a skill he developed when he worked with master furniture maker Wendell Castle, an acclaimed artist of the American art furniture movement.
Through the use of obstacles or spatial distance in each piece, Beitz tries to create a sense of intimacy or alienation that serves as a commentary on the human condition.
鈥淚鈥檓 interested in integrating ideas about relationships and family dynamics into objects and the spaces they鈥檙e in,鈥� said Beitz, a faculty member with the Department of Art and Art History. 鈥淚 discover new directions when I make things.鈥�
Principal Investigator:
Michael Beitz
Collaboration/Support:
Art and Art History; Visual Arts Center
