cover image Wood Primer

Wood Primer

Chronicle Books, David Nash. Chronicle Books, $24.95 (67pp) ISBN 978-0-938491-07-1

This collection of photographs of works by Nash, a wood sculptor who has lived and worked in Wales for the past 20 years, shows the varied ways in which the artist creates forms from wood while remaining true to the nature of the material. In some pieces, for example, there is a contrast between the solid frame construction of a chair or ladder and the wild, flowing line of the wood grain that heightens one's awareness of the qualities of the wood. Other pieces contain gnarly branches that add an emotive presence. Nash also uses many cubes, cylinders and triangles of wood, subjecting these simple forms to the elements so that they are cracked or charred or otherwise weathered. His pieces have a strong, elegant presence, and their simplicity emphasizes the expressive characteristics of the material.(August)