Christopher Kurtz
Christopher Kurtz’s pieces are born, first and foremost, from a sculptural motivation invested in the specificity of objecthood; he comments that, ‘for me, making sculpture is not a conceptual or immaterial practice, it’s physical. I settled on wood as my medium because it’s structural, but also malleable and alive.’ The artist expertly sculpts his material using a carefully chosen palette of tools; often beginning without a predetermined blueprint for the final piece, Christopher works intuitively to create poignant and poetic forms that respond to a personal narrative or reflection and which, in turn, elicit a powerful emotional response from the viewer.
Inspiration for Christopher’s Skipping Stone series, specially created for the gallery, comes from his treasured time skipping stones with his daughter on the Hudson River: ‘It's a way we end each day together. We love searching for the perfect river stone; the shapes are so beautiful to hold - sometimes we can't bear to toss the good ones into the river, and we end up putting them in our pockets, bringing them home and stacking them up’. He uses locally sourced wood such as black American walnut, ash, cherry and white oak and sensitively hand carves each piece into smooth elliptical pebble shapes, expressively balanced to form the structure of the work.
Christopher has gained international attention for his sculpture and studio furniture, which is included in significant private collections. The artist was shortlisted for the Loewe Craft Prize 2018 with a signature wooden sculptural work. He received the prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Award in 2005, and in 2007 he received a New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) Award (Lily Auchincloss fellow). He has exhibited as part of Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design at the Museum of Arts and Design, USA.
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Design Miami/ 2022 concludes successful 18th edition under the theme "The Golden Age: Looking to the Future"
Jose Villarreal, Art Daily -
Design Miami 2022: Further Coverage
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The 5 Best Booths at SF's FOG Art Fair
Open Color, January 20, 2023 -
Here's What's Not to Miss at This Year's FOG Design+Art in San Francisco
Galerie Editors, Galerie, January 10, 2023 -
The Golden Age
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The Most Memorable Moments From Miami Art and Design Week 2022
Hannah Martin and Lila Allen, Architectural Digest, December 9, 2022 -
Highlights from Design Miami/ 2022
Design Miami, December 8, 2022 -
What we loved at Design Miami 2022
Elana Castle, Effect Magazine, December 7, 2022 -
5 DESIGN TRENDS WE SPOTTED DURING MIAMI ART WEEK
Ingrid Abramovitch, Parker Bowie Larson and Sean Santiago, Elle Decor, December 6, 2022 -
As Art Basel Turns 20, Miami Art Week Enters a New, Slightly Less Hyped-Up Dawn
Spencer Bailey, The Slowdown, December 2, 2022 -
Design Miami 2022 Gives Sights, Sounds, and Plenty of Seats
Joshua Glass, Cultured, December 1, 2022 -
A preview of a selection of this year’s exhibitors reveals some cutting edge contemporary works
Charlotte Abrahams , The Design Edit, November 21, 2022 -
What to see at London Craft Week
Hannah Silver, Wallpaper, October 6, 2021 -
Shop Flaw: 21 buys to embrace the art of Wabi-Sabi
Aylin Bayhan, Financial Times: How to Spend it , April 29, 2021 -
Critical thinking | Difficult issues: Works of Faith
Glenn Adamson, The Magazine Antiques, March 22, 2021 -
American Craft Past, Present and Future
Design Miami, February 28, 2021 -
Objects: USA 2020
Adrien Madlener, The Design Edit, February 11, 2021 -
HOW ONE ARCHITECT KEPT THE COZY IN A SLEEK REDO ON MANHATTAN’S UPPER EAST SIDE
Alexandra Lange, Elle decor, January 5, 2021