Accession Number
2002/2.127

Title
Bowl

Artist(s)
Kip Christensen

Object Creation Date
2002

Medium & Support
wood

Dimensions
9 5/16 x 10 in. (23.5 x 25.4 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Robert M. and Lillian Montalto Bohlen

Label copy
Kip Christensen was first introduced to woodturning as a student at Brigham Young University in the late 1970s. He now teaches furniture design and construction there and is highly regarded in the world of wood art, where he is known for his lidded containers and for pioneering the use of antler in turning.
Whether working in antler or in wood, Christensen often leaves the edges of his turned pieces unworked. This can be seen in Whited Sepulcher Series 014, which gives just the barest suggestion of a vessel form. Instead, the sculptural qualities of the burl’s exterior surface—visible along the rim of the would-be vessel—evoke a landscape in miniature. The allusion is strengthened by the intense graining of the burl wood, which calls to mind geologic strata underlying the craggy surface. Christensen feels indebted to the natural world for providing him with his chosen media: “We assume a measure of responsibility when fashioning the remarkable materials offered us by nature. Hopefully we can do them justice.”
from the exhibition Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, June 12 – October 3, 2004

Primary Object Classification
Sculpture

Collection Area
Modern and Contemporary

Rights
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Keywords
wood (plant material)