Furniture that is fun and attractive as well as functional is the theme of the forthcoming juried exhibition of work opening July 13 at the Tennessee State Museum. LEGS & LEAVES: Creations from the Cumberland Furniture Guild, will offer visitors insight to the quality craft that our Tennessee furniture makers are creating for collectors around the country.

            The Cumberland Furniture Guild, a regional association of studio furniture makers, collectors, and enthusiasts, organized the juried show for the group’s biennial Fine Furniture Exhibition, which will be accompanied by a book of selected works.

                These artisans, who specialize in studio furniture, blend artistic concepts with quality materials and traditional construction techniques. Guild members are furniture makers who have studied art, design or woodworking in college or are self-taught and working outside of the traditional technical school apprenticeship manufacturing processes. However, all of the artisans experiment and explore unique ideas, not ordinarily seen in mass-produced pieces. Because humans interact with furniture each day, it’s a short and comfortable leap to seeing it in the role of art, as well.
                “The artists of the Cumberland Furniture Guild bring both precision and playfulness into the art of design. While using the highest standards of craftsmanship, they have taken the ideas of what a piece of furniture can do in many different directions.  The pieces in this exhibition are fully functional and deeply expressive in an artistic sense.” Jim Hoobler, the museum’s senior curator of art & architecture pointed out. “This show represents some of the finest designers and makers of furniture working in Tennessee today. A number of them are nationally recognized artists. We are delighted to exhibit their work to a broader audience.”
            An opening reception for the general public will be held in the changing galleries at the State Museum on Sunday, July 13 from 2 to 4 p.m. Members of the Cumberland Furniture Guild will be available to speak with visitors and discuss their work. 

The book, entitled Arms, Legs, Feet, Heart & Soul– The Cumberland Furniture Guild Explores the Anatomy of Furniture, contains photographs of the furniture included in the exhibit, along with essays from Guild members. It will be available for purchase in the Museum Store during the furniture exhibit.

        Alf Sharp, President of the Cumberland Furniture Guild, expressed the essence of the exhibition and the book in his statement: “It’s no wonder that human characteristics are attributed to these beloved objects. That which connects a table’s top to the floor is not a post, but a leg. A chest rests on feet, not on supports. We snuggle ourselves into the arms and back of a chair. And when a piece of furniture is made by a single craftsman, we often say he put his heart and soul into it.”

            LEGS & LEAVES: Creations from the Cumberland Furniture Guild continues through August 31 at the State Museum. Located at Fifth and Deaderick Streets in downtown Nashville, the museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. The museum, which is closed on Mondays, is free to the public.

Home page image: Chicken Little Table by Miles Fields
Above right: Tall Clock by Alf Sharp
Above Left:Celery Chair with Carrots, Peppers and Snow Pea by Craig Nutt