Exhibition opening: The Collaborators, Act II
The date and time is set for the opening of "Act II" of Bungendore Wood Works Gallery's latest exhibition: The Collaborators.
After 50 years of designing, making and running Australia's foremost gallery for woodwork and wood art, there is now a sense of passing things forward for David Mac Laren. The role of the next generation of makers is taken up in the form of a design collaboration between David Mac Laren and Rolf Barfoed, Christopher Neal, Nathan Cummins, Mitchell McNamara-Rice and Steven Giannuzzi.
The Collaborators: Six designers in search of authenticity takes the form of three sequential exhibitions: "Retro - spectives, Con - temporary and Few - tures".
Rolf Barfoed explains: "I've been collaborating with David Mac Laren since 2020. Working with David can be an intense experience. David's designs always need innovative techniques and a high skill level and this keeps us on our toes.
"My favourite technique that we've used so far while making David's designs is the shape work required for the X-Frame table legs and rails. We make these tapered and curved extrusions 'free-hand' using a three-metre long belt-sander. The course sanding belt removes material quickly and requires dexterous hands, sliding, turning, and swinging the work smoothly to make shapes that would be impossible or tedious to carve in a traditional manner. Human shapes.
"David is passionate about beautiful timbers, grain composition, flawlessness, and esoteric finishing and polishing techniques. We have gained a lot of new experience in all these aspects since working with David. David's designs that my team has worked on feature crisp lines, flowing curves, and precise geometry. They demand an alert craftsman who must find their flow while using machinery and hand tools with advanced skill and close attention to detail.
"As a designer and teacher, David avoids set parameters. Rather, he likes to creep up on shape, and to keep pushing and pushing until it is just right. Paraphrasing something David once said to me, "When it looks right, it is right." David Mac Laren (and may have been influenced by Tage Frid)."
The Collaborators, Act II will feature retrospective work by David Mac Laren as well as new work created in collaboration with the five named makers, along with insights into how the designs evolved.
Bungendore Wood Works Gallery is located at 22 Malbon Street, Bungendore, NSW. The exhibition opens 22 June, 2024 at 11am. RSVP to gallery@bwoodworks.com.au