Dean Pulver
Artist Statement
As a child of two cultures, Japanese and Anglo American, one of my interests in furniture making is drawing from the design aesthetics of diverse cultures. Most recently I have been involved in designing and making pieces that have a similar spirit as primitive art. I admire the innocence and honesty within this work and hope to speak in a similar voice.
I have an innate need to create three-dimensional objects. It makes me feel that I have accomplished something. Furniture is the perfect medium for me to work with because I enjoy having my work interact with people.
I love to carve wood. The silence, the control, the search for form, the texture, the trace of man's interaction, a record of the creative process--a moment frozen in time.
Background
I was born in 1963 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. My father was a painter and commercial artist, my mother, a clothing designer and maker. I spent my first year as a painter at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the "University of the Arts"), then moved into the sculpture department and worked primarily in metal and clay. I graduated with a B.F.A. in sculpture in 1987.
I spent the next four years working with various artists and crafts people learning new techniques in different mediums, concentrating on finding my place in the art world. In 1989 I moved to Massachusetts and decided to focus on one medium. I chose wood. So, I found a job with a local furniture company. In 1991, my wife Abby Salsbury (a ceramic artist) and I founded "The Artistry, Housatonic Craft Artist's Guild". That year I built my first piece of furniture. Since then I have been involved in many solo and group shows and have kept very busy with furniture commissions.
My shop is in the middle of some of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever lived in, Taos, New Mexico. Every day I look around and am awed by this place I am lucky enough to call home.
My shop is a collection of tools that I have found during my life as an artist and craftsman. My jointer was salvaged from an old paper mill in Massachusetts. I rebuilt her cast iron battleship-like body and bed. I acquired my table saw from a woodworking friend who worked next to me in an old cotton mill on the Housatonic river. Many of my other tools have interesting histories to them as well. My shop is equipped to build anything I want to with precision and pleasure.
Resume
Dean Pulver
Selected Exhibitions
2006 Solo Show at Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2005 Fuller Craft Museum, "Cut It Out", Brockton, MA
2003 Philadelphia Museum of Art Craft Show, Philadelphia, PA
2001 "Chair Show 4", Guild.com, Madison, WI
2000 "Furniture As Art",Guild.com, Madison, WI
1999-2000 "Chair Show 3", Southern Highland Craft Guild, NC, traveling exhibition and catalogue.
1998 "Anything But Southwestern", FACET Art Gallery, Taos, NM
1998 Group Exhibition, Spencertown Academy Gallery, Spencertown, NY
1995 "Wood", Berkshire Artisans Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
1995 "Voice To Voice", RICA Gallery, Housatonic, MA
1994 "Inside and Out", Tokonoma Gallery, Housatonic, MA
1994 "Berkshire Artists Invitational", RICA Gallery, Housatonic, MA
1994 "Small Works", RICA Gallery, Housatonic, MA
1993 "Sculpture On The Creek", Martin's Creek Sculpture Park, PA
1993 "Year Of American Crafts", Berkshire Artisans Gallery, Pittsfield, MA
1993 "The Home Show", Tokonoma Gallery, Housatonic, MA
1992 "Sculpture By Seven", Butler Sculpture Park, Sheffield, MA
1992 "Recent Works: Dean Pulver", The Artistry, Housatonic, MA
1992 "Art For The Outdoors", Spazi Fine Art, Housatonic, MA
Publications
Furniture Studio 3, The Furniture Society, 2005
"Cut it Out", Exhibition Catalogue, Fuller Museum of Art, Brockton Ma, 2004
Furniture Studio 2, The Furniture Society, 2001
Chair Show 4, catalogue, 2001
Transformations, catalogue, 1999
Chair Show 3, catalogue,1999
The New York Times, Home section 5/9/95, Currents 8/4/94, Magazine section, 5/18/93, Country Home, 6/94
Awards
"Best of Show in Furniture", 2001 Scottsdale Arts Festival
"Anderson Ranch Art Center Scholarship", 1999, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village, CO
"The Alfreda and Sam Maloof Scholarship", 1995, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Snowmass Village,CO
Education
1982-1987 Phildelphia College of Art, BFA Sculpture