The Johnson Heritage Post opens its second show of the year with Out In The
Shop – A Portrait of Cook County Furniture
Makers.
The exhibit features the work of nine contemporary furniture makers who reside and work in Cook County, providing a glimpse into the varied styles, approaches and personalities of this obscure but artistic and technical occupation. Curator of the exhibit, Scott Pollock, wanted to work with furniture makers on this show as a way of introducing our community to the talent of what is usually only viewed in the private homes in which they are commissioned or built.
“The Johnson Heritage Post is a great venue for a showroom for this kind of talent. It’s a neutral, public space for folks to enjoy the work of those who spend most of their time in their own private workshops making furniture for private homes and businesses,” said Pollock.
From young, aspiring wood workers to those who have been installing cabinets and complete kitchens in homes and businesses in Cook County for over two decades, the exhibit also includes blackand white photography of each furniture maker, the spaces they work in and excerpts in their own words about making furniture as an occupation in rural northern Minnesota. The exhibit will feature the work of Steve Asche, Dean Einwalter, Mark Hansen, Stephen Holz, Paul McFarlane, Keith Morris, Dave Prinsen, Randy Schnobrich and Seth Williams, each exhibiting anywhere between two and eight pieces of furniture.
The exhibit opening is scheduled for Friday, April 9 between 5 and 7 p.m., where a number of the furniture makers will be on hand to talk about their work. Music by the Pincushion Warblers, local musicians Barbara Jean Meyers and Nathan Baker, will be performed accompanying the usual Johnson Heritage Post exhibit opening fair.
Theexhibit runs for six weeks (through May 23) and the gallery is open weekly, Wednesdays through Sundays from 11a.m. until 5 p.m.
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