Hank Holzer
Hank pushes the limit of practicality in his designs: chairs boarder on the improbable, tabletops have windows into the joinery below, curved joints intrigue the eye and provide the builder his daily dose of dilemma. His innovation is responsive to an intrigue with materials: fused glass, the live edge of a board, the Rorschach images of book-matched veneers provide inspiration. The primacy of wood appears in the dynamic book-matches of solid walnut on his Akira Coffee table, in the raw edges and natural knotty charm of benches, in chairs and tables sometimes twisted or fractured, sometimes revealing bark or the outline of a tree’s form. A dancerly movement surfaces again and again in his Fred Astaire Series, his Windswept Table, his Boulder Tumble.
“You might say I’ve been involved with working wood all my life. Mentors, in my younger years, fostered a fluency in wood construction. A fascination with the richness of grains, color, figure and reflectance: the warmth of wood that pleases the eye and hand, guides my work to this day. Following these passions, I have dedicated my professional life to working wood since the early 1980s.”
“There is always an element of surprise in furniture made by Hank Holzer. Whether it comes with the recognition of extraordinary wood grain that dances across the face of a cabinet, or in a completely new conception of a traditional form, it stops you in your tracks and jumpstarts the brain. I know this by living with two pairs of his Hip Hobbit chairs and witnessing the reactions of visitors. The cantilevered seats appear to defy gravity: they make an irresistible target for a test. As visitors tentatively settle into its seat, their wary expressions change to broad smiles as they realize this improbable chair has a comfortable, springy bounce and easily handles their weight. A hall table combines three triangular forms in an elegant balance. The sides of a buffet flare slightly outward in a new interpretation of a time-honored form. Beautiful woods and masterful technique create functional sculpture. Quite plainly: his furniture designs are works of art.”
