Matthias Pliessnig is an acclaimed furniture designer based in Brooklyn, New York. [1] whose work uses steam bent wood. His style is "kinetically contemporary" and he uses "computer-aided curves with laborious craftsmanship" to handcraft chairs and benches. [2]
Pliessnig is a graduate of Rhode Island School of Design and the University of Wisconsin (Madison). His interest in woodworking developed after he decided to build a boat and was inspired to apply those techniques, particularly steam bending of wood strips around a mold, to furniture making. [2] The New York Times reported that his studio "looks more akin to a boat-builder’s garage than an icy SoHo loft, which makes sense when you consider the lunular shapes of Pliessnig’s chairs." [1]
His first solo exhibition was hosted by Philadelphia's Wexler Gallery in 2008. [3] Plessing's 2003 Shell is made of laminated mahogany wood strips around a concrete form. [4] His work Bends is a bowed bench made from a grid of wood that "gives way to support the sitter". [5]
In 2010, he was named a fellow by United States Artists. [6]
References
- ^ a b Rosecrans Baldwin April 23, 2009 Furniture Design The Digital Ramble New York Times blog
- ^ a b The Eye; Next Generation Matthias Pliessnig page 36 March 2009 Forbes Life
- ^ Wexler Gallery website Archived 2009-04-13 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Jonathan Benson Woodworker's Guide to Bending Wood: Techniques, Projects and Expert Advice for Fine Woodworking Fox Chapel Publishing, 2009 ISBN 978-1-56523-360-7. 192 pages page 9
- ^ In the Modern World Jul 2007 242 pages Vol. 7, No. 8 ISSN 1530-5309 Dwell, LLC Dwell page 50
- ^ United States Artists Official Website "Artist Grants - United States Artists". Archived from the original on 2010-11-10. Retrieved 2013-11-01.