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Lot Essay
This piece will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné Wendell Castle: A Catalogue Raisonné 1958-2012 published by The Artist Book Foundation and written by Emily Evans Eerdmans, with essays by Glenn Adamson, Jane Adlin, and Dave Barry.
With each of his exquisitely crafted pieces, the designer and craftsman Wendell Castle reaffirms his mission to defy convention and unify sculpture and furniture: disciplines he regards as two sides of the same coin. Considered the father of the American Studio Movement, through his work and his teaching at his school in upstate New York, Castle inspired a generation of artist and designers. Centered in Pennsylvania and reaching its peak in the 1960s and 70s, the Studio Movement had its origins in the American tradition of highly skilled cabinetmakers producing one-of-a kind pieces for wealthy clients (as opposed to the manufactured furniture made after World War II by companies such as Herman Miller). The Movement's makers, including Wharton Esherick, George Nakashima, Art Carpenter, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, created superbly crafted furniture in their own studios as a means of self-expression. In limited productions, Castle's pieces were often in wood but he mastered a variety of materials including steel and fiberglass.
The extraordinary, sensuous and organic form of Castle's 'Chinook' embodies its eponymous reference: a warm, dry, wind that blows down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Completely sculptural, that it is also a bench is apparent only after the elegant curving form has made its deep impression, bridging the divide between functional design and sculpture.
Wendell Castle's work can be found in the permanent collections of over 40 museums and cultural institutions, including: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Montreal, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, The Museum of Arts and Design, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.
With each of his exquisitely crafted pieces, the designer and craftsman Wendell Castle reaffirms his mission to defy convention and unify sculpture and furniture: disciplines he regards as two sides of the same coin. Considered the father of the American Studio Movement, through his work and his teaching at his school in upstate New York, Castle inspired a generation of artist and designers. Centered in Pennsylvania and reaching its peak in the 1960s and 70s, the Studio Movement had its origins in the American tradition of highly skilled cabinetmakers producing one-of-a kind pieces for wealthy clients (as opposed to the manufactured furniture made after World War II by companies such as Herman Miller). The Movement's makers, including Wharton Esherick, George Nakashima, Art Carpenter, Sam Maloof and Wendell Castle, created superbly crafted furniture in their own studios as a means of self-expression. In limited productions, Castle's pieces were often in wood but he mastered a variety of materials including steel and fiberglass.
The extraordinary, sensuous and organic form of Castle's 'Chinook' embodies its eponymous reference: a warm, dry, wind that blows down the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains. Completely sculptural, that it is also a bench is apparent only after the elegant curving form has made its deep impression, bridging the divide between functional design and sculpture.
Wendell Castle's work can be found in the permanent collections of over 40 museums and cultural institutions, including: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, the Museum of Modern Art, New York, Art Institute of Chicago, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Musée des Arts Décoratifs de Montreal, Cooper Hewitt National Design Museum, New York, The Museum of Arts and Design, New York, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.