Robert Cutler
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1944, Wendeler, Idaho
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
The White House Collection of American Crafts, Washington, DC
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2004 Nature Transformed, Wood Art from The Bohlen Collection, University of
Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
2003 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2001-04 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001-03 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Against the Grain: Turned & Sculpted Wood, McAllen International
Museum, McAllen, TX
2000 Fine Art of Wood, The Bohlen Collection, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
1998 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, San Francisco, CA
1997 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1994-04, 06 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
1994-04 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
1994-98 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993-95 The White House Collection of American Crafts, Smithsonian American
Art Museum, Washington, DC and touring
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art form the Bohlen Collection, Hudson Hills Press
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohen Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Abbeville Publishing
1999 Contemporary Turned Wood/Perspectives in a Rich Tradition, Hand Books Press
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Cutler creates turned and lidded vessels with intricate inlays of various woods, precious and semi-precious metals, fossil and prehistoric materials found predominately in Alaska and around the world. The pieces are finished with his own formula that seals and protects the inlay and wood while enhancing the three dimensional properties of the wood. Cutler uses a metal lathe that he has redesigned for outboard turning. This lathe weighs 1900 pounds and enables him to turn diameters to the floor and to almost unlimited lengths. The inlay and finishing techniques he uses are of his own creation.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I was privileged to have grown up in Alaska when it was still a territory, and I was always intrigued by nature and the lessons it had to teach. When it came time for me to make a living, I found conventional jobs too restricting and un-fulfilling. I missed the excitement of creativity I experienced when I was closer to nature. My first project was a clock made from a burl on a tree in my backyard. That was all it took! Years later, I am still working with the Alaskan woods I have always loved.
SELECTED COLLECTIONS
The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
The White House Collection of American Crafts, Washington, DC
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2006-07 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006 Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2004 Nature Transformed, Wood Art from The Bohlen Collection, University of
Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
2003 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2001-04 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001-03 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001 Against the Grain: Turned & Sculpted Wood, McAllen International
Museum, McAllen, TX
2000 Fine Art of Wood, The Bohlen Collection, The Detroit Institute of Arts, Detroit, MI
1998 Collectors of Wood Art Forum, San Francisco, CA
1997 Turned Wood - Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1994-04, 06 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
1994-04 Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
1994-98 Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1993-95 The White House Collection of American Crafts, Smithsonian American
Art Museum, Washington, DC and touring
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art form the Bohlen Collection, Hudson Hills Press
2000 The Fine Art of Wood: The Bohen Collection, Detroit Institute of Arts, Abbeville Publishing
1999 Contemporary Turned Wood/Perspectives in a Rich Tradition, Hand Books Press
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Robert Cutler creates turned and lidded vessels with intricate inlays of various woods, precious and semi-precious metals, fossil and prehistoric materials found predominately in Alaska and around the world. The pieces are finished with his own formula that seals and protects the inlay and wood while enhancing the three dimensional properties of the wood. Cutler uses a metal lathe that he has redesigned for outboard turning. This lathe weighs 1900 pounds and enables him to turn diameters to the floor and to almost unlimited lengths. The inlay and finishing techniques he uses are of his own creation.
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I was privileged to have grown up in Alaska when it was still a territory, and I was always intrigued by nature and the lessons it had to teach. When it came time for me to make a living, I found conventional jobs too restricting and un-fulfilling. I missed the excitement of creativity I experienced when I was closer to nature. My first project was a clock made from a burl on a tree in my backyard. That was all it took! Years later, I am still working with the Alaskan woods I have always loved.