By Adrienne Perron
Photographs courtesy of Center for Furniture Craftsmanship
From our January 2022 issue
Until recently, woodworker Peter Korn had never shown any of his own furniture in the gallery of the school he founded nearly 30 years ago. The Messler Gallery at the nonprofit Center for Furniture Craftsmanship has exhibited works by the school’s faculty and other accomplished woodworkers, but executive director Korn always felt it inappropriate to showcase his own stuff. Then, in light of his retirement, in December, Korn softened his position — an exhibition with a few of his pieces seemed like a fine way to pay homage to those who shaped his career.
The resulting show, Straight from the Heart, features works by four of Korn’s mentors and 12 peers who’ve influenced him, plus four of his own works — three chairs and a dictionary stand — each an example of the other artists’ impact on his technique. “This show explains the mission of the school better than words,” he says. “My mentors shaped me and therefore shaped the culture and curriculum of the school.”
Korn’s curation of Straight from the Heart was partly selfish, he admits, because he wanted to see certain pieces of furniture in person again, some for the first time since the ’80s. Two of his chairs in the exhibit, titled Work in Progress V7 and Work in Progress V8, are iterations of the same design, which Korn has been trying intermittently to perfect for 30 years. With each new version, he says, he’s a little more pleased with the look and the ergonomics. In retirement, he aims to craft a final version — while still finding time to teach occasional classes at the center that’s been his longest work-in-progress. “Making useful, beautiful things is as much an exploration of what it is to be human as any other art form,” Korn says. “This school stands up for that. It’s my lasting contribution in this world.”
Korn founded the center in 1993 as a summer workshop, held in a barn behind his house in Rockland. In 1996, the center moved to Rockport, and today, it offers everything from intro workshops for those who’ve never held a plank to year-long fellowships for established woodworkers.
Korn’s curation of Straight from the Heart was partly selfish, he admits, because he wanted to see certain pieces of furniture in person again, some for the first time since the ’80s. Two of his chairs in the exhibit, titled Work in Progress V7 and Work in Progress V8, are iterations of the same design, which Korn has been trying intermittently to perfect for 30 years. With each new version, he says, he’s a little more pleased with the look and the ergonomics. In retirement, he aims to craft a final version — while still finding time to teach occasional classes at the center that’s been his longest work-in-progress. “Making useful, beautiful things is as much an exploration of what it is to be human as any other art form,” Korn says. “This school stands up for that. It’s my lasting contribution in this world.”