Robert Zlomke
Artist Statement
I have been designing and making wood furniture in the San Francisco Bay Area for more than thirty years. The design and execution of my pieces are both increasingly defined by contrasts.
I like to leave marks of the process of making things, like pencil and tool marks on the backs & undersides of pieces with smoothly polished show surfaces, and I value knots and waney board edges for their rough irregular texture; such contrasts as these enrich the object by referring to the artisan’s process or to the growing tree. I like to use commercial hardware, epoxies and other engineered products, when they add a visual or tactile effect.
Above all, I respect the element of surprise, both for myself and for those who will use my furniture. I do a lot of sketching before starting a piece, but I always leave something to be resolved as I work. Sometimes the most arresting feature of a piece arises in this way, or even as a result of a mistake.
All my furniture is intended to be used.
I support the efforts of the Forest Stewardship Council to encourage sustainable forest management, and I use FSC certified wood whenever possible.
I like to leave marks of the process of making things, like pencil and tool marks on the backs & undersides of pieces with smoothly polished show surfaces, and I value knots and waney board edges for their rough irregular texture; such contrasts as these enrich the object by referring to the artisan’s process or to the growing tree. I like to use commercial hardware, epoxies and other engineered products, when they add a visual or tactile effect.
Above all, I respect the element of surprise, both for myself and for those who will use my furniture. I do a lot of sketching before starting a piece, but I always leave something to be resolved as I work. Sometimes the most arresting feature of a piece arises in this way, or even as a result of a mistake.
All my furniture is intended to be used.
I support the efforts of the Forest Stewardship Council to encourage sustainable forest management, and I use FSC certified wood whenever possible.