McE Chair
Regular price $2,400.00This handmade chair is constructed of individual steel washers meticulously welded together by the artist, one at a time. The washers are formed to create a surface that perfectly cradles the body. The chair is supported by a delicate yet sturdy steel wire frame. Finished with durable multi-step painting process in a color combination suggesting stress.
30" H x 31 W x 34 D, seat height 12"
Made to order, ships within 12 weeks.
STATEMENT
I create objects employing traditional woodworking techniques which explore artistic ideas of pattern and form that are of contemporary nature. I have developed unique new techniques of solid wood intarsia inlays which have allowed the creation of my wood panels of bold new visual patterns. These wall hangings have freed my woodworking from the constraints of functional furniture to concentrate on expressions of mathematics, visual games and unique structures which are captivating to the eye, tactile senses and the mind.
I seek to create objects which have unique character and a magical rightness of being. My unique end grain solid wood intarsia inlays are used to efficiently develop fields of pattern which define my wall hangings. Some inlays are saturated with water prior to gluing into panels; upon drying the inlay shrink and crack introducing an additional pattern to the surface. The carved and machined surfaces are often left raw and unfinished to develop patina and age.
BIOGRAPHY
Hanging out with my future wife as she worked on her undergraduate art projects introduced me to the excitement and beauty of creating art. Several years later I decided to combine my engineering background with a developing love of art to pursue a career of furniture design and production. I maintained an independent business for 30 years doing custom design furniture and architectural woodwork.
My furniture designs have been featured in “the New York Times”, Country Living Magazine”, and “New York Magazine”. In 2010, I downsized my business to a studio behind my home and am now concentrating on producing my intarsia wall hanging as my wife, Anna lee Chalos McAleese creates her unique glass art.
Education
Purdue University, BS Engineering, Environmental, 1974
Indiana State University, MFA, Furniture Design and Sculpture, 1979
STATEMENT
There are two main ways of working with metal: casting, in which molten metal is poured into a mold; and fabrication, in which individual pieces of metal are joined together to create a piece. I prefer fabrication because of the directness and the evidence of process shown in the end product. The hand of the maker is seen in every piece of cut, formed and welded metal. I emphasize this personal craft and hand process by constructing with hundreds or thousands of small pieces. Whenever possible I leave the welds exposed to contribute to the pattern of the surface.
L. John Andrew completed a BFA with a concentration in Art Metals from the University of Wisconsin, Stout. After graduation, he moved to Vail, Colorado and worked as a jeweler for five years, making custom gold jewelry. In the fall of 1999 he attended a two-month jewelry class at Penland School of Crafts in Penland, North Carolina. He stayed at Penland for two more years as a recipient of the Core Student Scholarship. This experience gave him the opportunity to experiment with other media and learn from great instructors from around the world. He found his interests shifting from primarily jewelry to larger scale metalwork.
