One of the most striking things about these hand-crafted wooden stools, chairs, benches and tables is
just how geometric they are. We tend to imagine log construction and natural wood furniture as organic, defying rigid angles and smooth curves unlike more finished materials.
This set of alder-branch furniture objects by Brent Comber is compelling in part precisely because of this contrast between exactitude and natural variegation. By cutting cleanly across each surface, the visual qualities of the wood (particularly the contrasting dark bark and light log interior) stand out all the more clearly along the sides and top.
As a result of the simple geometric shapes of the objects themselves and the repetitive use of mainly one material, there is a distinctly minimalist modern feel to each work although the use of wood is structurally simple, traditional and conventional. The selection of mostly scrap wooden pieces makes them sustainable as well.
Put in both classic and contemporary spaces, his versatile works of private and commercial art and furniture have a way to crossing between worlds – seeming at once cutting-edge (no pun intended) but also somehow distinctly classic and almost antique depending upon what surrounds them.
