Christopher Kurtz
Wood sculptor
Rhinebeck, NY, USA
Craft on the cusp
- Christopher's practice lies at the threshold between sculpture and furniture making
- He worked for five years as an assistant to Martin Puryear
- Wood is his primary, and he experiments with silver leaf, gilding, bronze, and other materials
“Working in the craft environment is almost an act of defiance nowadays,” shares wood sculptor Christopher Kurtz. He looks back on how everything used to be made by hand. The influences that have shaped his journey in craftsmanship include his family origins in making, and his work with the celebrated artist Martin Puryear. Christopher's career has been about exploring the relationship between function and artistry, in works that plausibly belong to one or the other realm, or to both. "I am not trying to blur the lines between sculpture and furniture," he explains. "Rather, I see it all as sculpture." Because furniture can appear to be more accessible and approachable, he believes it allows viewers to enter the world of craft more organically.
INTERVIEW
I grew up in a family of self-reliant, competent doers. My grandfather was a sign painter, my father a calligrapher and typographer, and my mother a Hallmark illustrator. Understanding my surroundings through useful art felt completely natural. Woodworking became the language I found for sculpture.
I rarely begin with drawings and often do make models. I work directly with materials, allowing each decision to inform the next. Fabrication is not just the execution of a work, it is how I discover it. I trust the accumulation of small decisions.
It is a conversation between intention and surprise. I have an idea of where I am headed, but sustained attention always changes the destination. The best work teaches me something I did not know when I started. Craft is one of the few places where attention is both the medium and the message.
I do not think much about style while I am working. The look of a creation comes from trying to hold utility and poetry, intention and surprise, authorship and participation together. Style is simply a by-product of living with those questions for a long time.
Christopher Kurtz
Wood sculptor
Rhinebeck, NY, USA
ADDRESS
Address upon request, Rhinebeck, NY, USA
AVAILABILITY
By appointment only
LANGUAGES
English
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