Bart Niswonger
Bart Niswonger designs and builds functional furniture that provides strong visual and tactile experiences. He takes a natural medium, wood, and forces an unnatural structure on it by making rigid three-dimensional geometric forms. He further imposes geometry on the surface with texture or paint, shifts the color with dyes, and accentuates the grain by sandblasting or filling. His aim is to shift the balance between the natural, familiar, material, and the unnatural, foreign appearance. The tension engendered by holding these opposites in balance is what excites him.
At the most basic level, Niswonger enjoys creating objects that invite strong reactions, forcing people to confront their expectations of what furniture should be. Strong colors and unusual textures are exciting, particularly when incorporated into unexpectedly traditional forms. That excitement draws people to the work, inviting them to touch it.
At the same time, he does not want his furniture to be overpowering. With the right design, a bright, textured piece can feel equally at home in a farmhouse decorated with antiques as in a modern New York loft. One essential aspect of such a design is for the surface and form to be in balance. Kristina Madsen’s spectacular furniture is an example of this. Niswonger explains, “her forms do not simply display fantastic carving, nor is her carving supplementing her graceful forms: her forms and carving are in balance.”
Niswonger thinks of his own work in terms of balance and tension. In a traditional form, dyed bright red, the form is in tension with the surface. The piece will work only if the form and surface are in balance. The more tension he can introduce, the harder it is to balance the components, but the more energy the piece has. Bart Niswonger is a graduate in Computer Science from the University of Washington and was the recipient of the 2011 Mineck Fellowship.
Wall Cabinet with Green Door, 2020, Ash, cast urethane, paint, 22x17.25x8"> Inquire Irregular Mirrors, 2018, ash stain, acrylic, mirror, dimensions variable> Inquire Irregular Mirror v.P, v.O, v.A, v.D, 2018, ash, stain, acrylic, mirror, approx. 13x14.2" each Sold> Inquire Hole-y Stool, 2009, ash, paint, 22x18x14"> Inquire Green Cabinet, 2008, ash, cast urethane, paint, 35x42x17"> Inquire Green Cabinet (detail), 2008, ash, cast urethane, paint, 35x42x17"> Inquire Bedside Table, 2008, ash, cast urethane, dye, paint, 22x22x22"> Inquire Striped Armoire, 2008, ash, paint, 72x24x16"> Inquire Striped Dresses, 2008, ash, paint, 36x61x19"> Inquire
Bart Niswonger
Bart Niswonger designs and builds functional furniture that provides strong visual and tactile experiences. He takes a natural medium, wood, and forces an unnatural structure on it by making rigid three-dimensional geometric forms. He further imposes geometry on the surface with texture or paint, shifts the color with dyes, and accentuates the grain by sandblasting or filling. His aim is to shift the balance between the natural, familiar, material, and the unnatural, foreign appearance. The tension engendered by holding these opposites in balance is what excites him.
At the most basic level, Niswonger enjoys creating objects that invite strong reactions, forcing people to confront their expectations of what furniture should be. Strong colors and unusual textures are exciting, particularly when incorporated into unexpectedly traditional forms. That excitement draws people to the work, inviting them to touch it.
At the same time, he does not want his furniture to be overpowering. With the right design, a bright, textured piece can feel equally at home in a farmhouse decorated with antiques as in a modern New York loft. One essential aspect of such a design is for the surface and form to be in balance. Kristina Madsen’s spectacular furniture is an example of this. Niswonger explains, “her forms do not simply display fantastic carving, nor is her carving supplementing her graceful forms: her forms and carving are in balance.”
Niswonger thinks of his own work in terms of balance and tension. In a traditional form, dyed bright red, the form is in tension with the surface. The piece will work only if the form and surface are in balance. The more tension he can introduce, the harder it is to balance the components, but the more energy the piece has. Bart Niswonger is a graduate in Computer Science from the University of Washington and was the recipient of the 2011 Mineck Fellowship.