Judy Kensley McKie
Wagging Dog Chair, 2006
Material: Mahogany
Edition 1 of 2
Carved signature/date/edition: “© JKM ’06 1/2”
17 3/4 x 24 x 36 1/2 in | Seat Height 18 1/4 in
American studio craft master Judy Kensley McKie’s Wagging Dog Chair is an exceptional examples of the artist’s signature zoomorphic furniture design. Carved from mahogany, the work’s form blurs the line between furniture and sculpture demonstrating a playful interpretation of a dog’s form including intricate, carved textural detailing and an extended palm-like tail, serving as the chair’s backrest and titular feature.
“I remember I would sit in the living room and look at our own furniture, which was all very straightforward. Look at it for a long time, the way you might look at clouds in the sky. As I looked I saw the armrests starting to turn into animals, or I would see that a table had a stance that was like a four-legged creature, and I would think, that would be one way of bringing this stuff to life. I started looking carefully at a lot of animal forms, looking at a lot of primitive but incorporated animal imagery. The honesty of it and aliveness in primitive forms always appealed to me, so I wanted to get something of that into my work” (‘Furniture with Soul: Master Woodworkers and Their Craft’, David Savage, 2011, p. 93).
Judy Kensley McKie (born 1944) is an American artist, furniture designer, and furniture maker. She has been making her signature style of furniture with carved and embellished animal and plant motifs since 1977. As a young person, McKie worked with her graphic designer father in his woodshop, helping to manufacturing pieces. She cites this work as early inspiration to make furniture.
| Dimensions | 17.75 × 24 × 36.5 in |
|---|---|
| Artist | |
| Date | 2006 |
| Style |
