Exhibition Statement
There are many skilled cabinet makers in Nova Scotia, but few designers and makers of fine custom furniture that have the passion, skill, and aesthetic sensitivity of the artists whose work comprises this exhibition. They are only a selection of those currently designing and producing such unique and interesting furniture in Nova Scotia. I chose them to emphasize the broad diversity of styles, materials, and ideas available and to whet your appetite to explore further the work of these makers and others. The selection is completely subjective.
Designing and making such furniture in Nova Scotia will always be an economic struggle. That many have succeeded is a credit to their skill and tenacity. The eleven artists whose work appears here are representative of a small, far-flung cohort, often working alone in small out-of-the-way workshops and studios. They are men and women, young and old, some well established while others are just starting out, but all have an integral, emotional attachment to what they do and what they produce.
This is Living Furniture: furniture with an essence of its own that reflects the minds and hands that conceived and made it.
When you acquire such a piece you will benefit from far more than its utility. You don’t just use such furniture: you live with it as it lives with you. Whenever you open a drawer, place something on a table, or just walk by and glance at it, you will notice it, enjoy it, relish in its form, colour, and feel. Likely, you’ll notice a subtle change in your disposition: pleasure, relaxation, appreciation, perhaps the broach of a slight smile.
Most of us will live with our furniture for many years. To enhance our lives with a piece furniture that exudes life itself–that gives us daily pleasure through its function, beauty, and, most importantly, our continuing relationship with it–is an extraordinary achievement, not to be missed.
