After the Beatles, a lot of people thought (and still do think) that all of the world’s good songs have been written. I’m sure there are many woodworkers who think that truly original furniture went away with the passing of Krenov, Maloof, or Nakashima. Seth Rolland is doing his part to prove to the world that not every piece of furniture has already been made. The way Seth slices and bends wood seems more like something you’d find in the imagination of a child than in an art gallery, but his pieces belong equally at home in either. Maybe what I find so mesmerizing about his work is that it seems so simple and obvious but in reality it’s incredibly complex and fresh.

The power of Paul McCartney and John Lennon was their ability to write songs that you think you could have written yourself. Seth’s work speaks to me in the same way. I feel like I could have imagined and constructed these pieces myself. In reality, I was just as likely to write All You Need Is Love as I was to imagine and construct one of Seth’s pieces.

Seth will have an exhibit at the Bellevue Arts Museum in Bellevue, Wash., from May 20 to August 14, 2016. If you’re in the area, be sure to stop by to see these amazing works in person.

For more information on Seth’s work, check out Jon Binzen’s original post for this Masters of the Craft slideshow,  and Seth’s website. Plus online members can download the back cover page from issue #213 and find out how he makes his unique “Oxeye Hall Table” in a feature by Anissa Kapsales.

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