Design
Curator’s Eye
WE ASKED CURATORS OF LEADING TWENTIETH-CENTURY AND CONTEMPORARY DESIGN COLLECTIONS TO DISCUSS ONE OBJECT THAT THEY FEEL IS PARTICULARLY NOTEWORTHY. HERE IS A GALLERY OF THEIR CHOICES.
Paluska purposefully confuses the realms of furniture and sculpture, denying the viewer the opportunity to dismiss the object as purely utilitarian
DUANE PALUSKA WALKER Cherry 2006
The Bowdoin College Museum of Art owns three exquisitely crafted wooden objects by Maine-based furniture maker Duane Paluska: a gallery bench, a collection box in mahogany, and Walker, made of cherry. “I am a joiner,” Paluska explains, “I enjoy putting pieces together to make a whole—in an interesting way with integrity and formal appeal.” In his singular objects, the expressive qualities of joinery on occasion intrude on functionality. Indeed, Paluska purposefully confuses the realms of furniture and sculpture, denying the viewer the opportunity to dismiss the object as purely utilitarian. In his Walker he transforms a tool that turns the defying of gravity into an expressive gesture in which balance,repose, and awkwardness are present in equal measure. By supporting and positioning the body, many pieces of furniture have an anthropomorphic quality to them. Paluska slyly appropriates that aspect in his practice and presents us with objects that reward close looking and extended contemplation with insights into the human condition.
JOACHIM HOMANN
Curator
Bowdoin College Museum of Art
