Michael Albanese - Artist in Residence / Wood
Email: spikeiam1@hotmail.com

Artist Statement

"Stool"

"Bench"

I have spent the majority of my adult life working with living materials. As a landscape contractor and designer I have developed a fondness for the subtle colorations, textures and shapes that exist in the plants, trees and grasses that became the palette for living landscapes.

As a student of woodworking and furniture design I have studied the historical and contemporary works of master builders.  The works that intrigued me the most are those that reference nature in some form or another. The rustic furniture of the Adirondacks took a direct approach and used materials directly from the woods to make their twig furniture.  Master furniture makers from all over the world have used techniques like marquetry (veneering) to create images from nature and apply them to more refined furniture.

Other cultures, such as that of Japan have made an art of using common natural materials like bamboo, rattan and grasses to create extraordinary objects ranging from small sculptures and household tools to furniture and architecture.

Today, the work I create embody both my passion for natural material and my love of fine furniture. The furniture I build enjoys a complementary balance of both natural materials and the materials and techniques associated with fine woodworking.

--Michael Albanese

"Bark Chest"	"Twig Table"