The Judges: AWR Studio Furniture 2018
From Linda Nathan, Wood Review Editor
With over $21,000 in awards to determine amongst the 70 pieces of fine woodwork created specifically for AWR Studio Furniture 2018, our appointed judges have some serious decisions to make.
The awards to be presented are significant. Major sponsor and host Bungendore Wood Works Gallery is offering three cash awards of $10,000, $3000 and $2000. There is the Felder Award for Fine Woodworking, a Hammer N4400 bandsaw valued at $3166. There are three additional $1000 cash awards including The George Ingham Fine Chair Making Award sponsored by Adrian Potter, the Interwood Design Award and the Emerging Designer Maker Award sponsored by Studio Woodworkers Australia.
We are all great armchair critics and most of us know what we simply like and don’t like but from experience I can tell you that it’s never that straightforward on the day. Each piece will tell a different story about the expertise, philosophy and sensitivities of its maker.
Our chosen judges come collectively with decades of experience as designer, makers, educators and importantly, people who have an empathy for the values and aesthetics expressed in the works they examine and evaluate. Let me introduce the five judges to you.
Michael Fortune is an internationally renowned Canadian furniture designer maker and a contributing editor to Fine Woodworking magazine. He is noted for his artistic sensitivity, his technical virtuosity and also his generosity as a mentor to younger makers. He has undertaken numerous design projects with international aid agencies in developing countries. He has visited and taught workshops in Australia and New Zealand and will be teaching workshops during the Wood Dust Australia festival.
Ann Cleary FRAIA is an award winning architect and Senior Lecturer in Architecture at the University of Canberra within the Faculty of Arts and Design. Ann's experience in architectural and urban design work encompasses twenty five years on a range of architectural projects, including a period working in Sweden and the US, with AKOS Arkitektkontor in Göteborg and Mitchell/ Giurgola in New York. Her work with MGT Architects in Australia included many years on the Parliament House project as well as large scale project and competition work in Singapore. Her project experience within large and small practice includes performing arts, waterfront, industrial and campus programs, urban infrastructure, streetscape, ephemeral art installations and residential projects. Ann cofounded design group Cadence and established a studio practice a r k k u: architecture and urban design.
As a trained mechanical engineer with experience in product design for the automotive industry, Adrian Potter’s life took a new turn in 1993 when he commenced study at the ANU School of Art. His teacher was the late George Ingham, founder of the Wood Workshop who is the inspiration Adrian has drawn on for the award he is sponsoring. Adrian has taught at University SA, TAFE SA and at the Canberra School of Art. He has exhibited extensively in solo and group exhibitions while maintaining a practice as a furniture designer maker. Currently he is resident maker in the Adelaide workshop of high profile furniture designer Khai Liew.
Ten years in the merchant bank industry convinced Roy Schack to follow his heart and take a more tactile career path. After completing studies at the Sturt School for Wood in 1994, Roy opened his first workshop in Woolloongabba, Qld and later in Samford Valley established The Brisbane School of Fine Woodwork, where he also continues to make to commission under the banner of Roy Schack Fine Furniture. Roy Schack’s stated aesthetic is about good design and craftsmanship in equal measure, and he is known as a designer maker whose style is based on uncompromising standards of craftsmanship.
It's also my honour to take up the role of chair of the judging panel and act as the fifth judge.
AWR Studio Furniture 2018 will open on October 20, 2018 at Bungendore Wood Works Gallery, NSW.
