A Guide to Studio Craft

The studio craft movement is a testament to the unique visions of prolific artists and our innate interest in beautiful things. Studio craft applies traditional craft techniques to objects that artfully blend utility with the individual vision of an artist. Most studio craft pieces are both aesthetically pleasing and functional – making studio craft  uniquely expressive and highly sought after.

Collectors of studio craft objects and furniture appreciate these works for what they are– an expression of an artist’s vision, craft pieces to be admired and integrated into daily living. Read on to gain insight into this unique movement, and why collectors delight in studio craft pieces.

Defining Studio Craft

A studio craft piece is created by an artist utilizing craft methods in their studio workplace, and can range from functional objects like chairs, tables, and benches to pure aesthetic pieces like sculptures. Though influenced by the preceding arts and crafts movement, studio craft is set apart by its focus on  individuality, personality of process and the artist’s vision.

Studio craft encompasses handcrafted objects made by skilled artisans in their studios or workshops. Here are some of the hallmarks of the studio craft movement:

• Emphasis on craftsmanship, creativity, and artistic expression
• Typically expressed in mediums such as wood, ceramics, glass, metal, fiber, and mixed media.
• Each piece is typically unique and reflects the individual style, vision, and expertise of the artisan.
• Studio craft celebrates the value of handmade objects, supporting local artisans and promoting appreciation for craftsmanship.
• Studio craft art often emphasizes the inherent beauty of materials, highlighting natural textures, colors, and forms.
• A focus on art/objects that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also imbued with meaning, tradition, and personal expression.

“An important aspect of the Studio Craft Movement is that it focuses on the maker’s personal vision and the process of creation – rather than the final product, which is usually a one-of-a-kind work of art,” Moderne Gallery’s gallery co-director Joshua Aibel told Effect Magazine. “That’s really the essence of the studio maker: it’s more their vision and their process – and what this represents – than the final product.”

Collectors are attracted to these objects for both their aesthetics and their status as a one-of-a-kind totem to the vision of the artist. Collecting studio craft pieces allows one to possess a wholly individual object with no others like it, and to own a piece of work representative of an artist’s most raw creative energy.

Pioneering Studio Craft Masters

The studio craft movement originated from the works of masterful artists like Wharton Esherick, George Nakashima and Tage Frid, each of whom played a major role advancing the field and helping shape the next generation.

“It started with the kind of mythical image of the fine artist working in his or her studio. And it developed with Wharton Esherick – among the first Americans to really start working that way, in the mid-1920s. Wendell Castle specifically credited Esherick with creating this model,” Moderne Gallery founder Robert Aibel told Effect Magazine, a leading global design publication.

Esherick’s unique pieces of furniture, hallmarked by asymmetric and prismatic forms, pioneered the studio craft movement that eventually gave way to each descendant artist’s own individual process and body of work. Today, many contemporary studio craft artists are becoming increasingly renowned for their own body of work.

Contemporary Studio Craft

There are many contemporary studio craft artists with celebrated bodies of work. Here are a few whose work you can find at Moderne Gallery.

Mira Nakashima

Mira Nakashima is a renowned American woodworker and designer, recognized for her exceptional craftsmanship and dedication to continuing the legacy of her father, George Nakashima.  Since 1990, Mira has evolved Nakashima Woodworker by defining and building on her father’s legacy (and wood-pile). She has been curating, building and designing numerous furniture shows in the United States and abroad as well as preserving the architecture on the property her father created. She picked up right where her father left off, continuing his tradition as well as exploring some new possibilities. She is upholding the foundational philosophies of George Nakashima to create forms that are reverential to the trees, giving them a second life.  Mira Nakashima instilled the importance of collaboration among the woodworkers and artisans work.

David Ebner

Through his sculptural use of beautiful woods, modernist and classic forms, David Ebner epitomizes the American Studio Furniture Movement. Following in the footsteps of the early masters, George Nakashima, Wharton Esherick, and Wendell Castle, under whom he studied, Ebner has created a unique niche for himself as a designer of “antiques of the future.” From 1975, when his work was selected for inclusion in the highly prestigious Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Gallery of Fine Art, to the present, his work has been highly sought for its mixture of classicism and innovation. No collection of 20th and 21st century furniture and design is complete without an example of Ebner’s perfectly crafted pieces.

Miriam Carpenter

Miriam Carpenter is a contemporary artist based in Bucks County, Pennsylvania whose work includes wood sculpture, furniture, ceramics and works on paper. As a Rhode Island School of Design alumna, she began her career as a furniture designer at George Nakashima’s studio.  Through new processes, her work explores things often overlooked – unveiling the hidden complexities around us – whether based in biology, chemistry, mathematics, physics or in the human condition. Carpenter’s work can be found internationally in both private and public collections and has been exhibited most notably at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, Michener Art Museum, Wharton Esherick Museum, Fuller Craft Museum, Marshall M. Fredericks Sculpture Museum, Museum for Art in Wood, Philadelphia International Airport, SOFA Chicago, Design Miami/Paris and Moderne Gallery where she is currently represented. She has been awarded six international residencies in the arts and is an active participant in artist collaborations around the globe.

Moderne Gallery’s Leading Role in Studio Craft

Moderne Gallery has long been a leading authority on studio craft pieces. We are proud to provide clients with access to highly sought after, authentic, unique pieces to add to their collections, a promise we have upheld for our 30+ years in business.

“In 1984, when I started the gallery, we were primarily French Art Deco. But in 1985, I got a phone call that changed everything. It was from a doctor who was moving. And he had a dining table that he called ‘used furniture’. And I said, ‘Well, what kind?’ He said, ‘Well, it was made by this guy in New Hope— Nakashima,” Robert Aibel recalls to Effect Magazine.

“I’d already been out to Nakashima a couple of times. And so I didn’t think the ‘used’ classification was a good one. But in fact, by 1985, most of the studio furniture and studio ceramic makers were somewhat forgotten already. The market was primarily for brand new furniture—not historically relevant furniture.”

Robert sold the Nakashima dining table and chairs almost immediately. “I didn’t know that was going to happen, but there were a couple of people out there who cared and knew who he was.”

It was this instance that set Moderne Gallery onto our course.

With a specialized knowledge of works from the Studio Craft Movement, we continue to provide access to works by designers such as George Nakashima and Wharton Esherick, as well as new and exciting pieces from contemporaries. Please click here to submit items for appraisal or contact us with any questions.

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