Pierson Library Fall Art Show 2026
The pieces in this exhibit show a sampling from several different themes and inspirations my work has explored over the years: perspective dependent pieces that seek to highlight the relationship between the work and the viewer, form, texture, narrative elements, and (always) the contributions from the material and history of the tree that provided it. The additional descriptions below are ordered to folllow the layout as one enters through the door and proceeds counterclockwise around the room.
Works:
Mostly Sunny (Perspectival Forms Series). Boxelder, gold leaf. Growing out of my prior philosophical work in perception, the works in this series are intended to highlight the relation between the viewer and the object. These pieces are designed to be viewed from a particular angle – relying on the viewer’s perspective to create an image out of the exterior surface, the interior surface, and the two layers of carved negative space. Some of these perspectival forms are static, relying on a particular point of view to align the pieces to create the image. Others have a dynamic component, where the viewer’s motion causes some elements to appear to move relative to others when the viewer’s position shifts (motion parallax), as with the clouds ‘drifting by’ in Mostly Sunny.
Projections #2. Norway maple (Shelburne Farms), carved and charred exterior detail, acrylic paint (interior detail). This is the second piece in my Projections series in which I explore what happens to simple 2D geometric shapes when they are projected onto the curved surface of a turned vessel ,either as holes or surface ornamentation. In a second sense, these pieces also involve imagined projections through a cut hole in one side onto the opposite wall as if impact from the light (or viewer’s gaze) streaming through caused the detail on the other side.
Vermont Maple Delivers: Vermont is fortunate to be nourished by several species of maple. Among other things, they provide visual beauty, syrup, habitats, heat, and lumber. The five turned milk bottles in this piece provide a glimpse of some of this variety: red maple (Acer rubrum) that has been partially charred and burnished; silver maple (Acer saccharinum) that spalted during the early stages of the log’s return to the soil; tapped sugar maple (Acer saccharum) with taphole; hard maple (Acer saccharum) with carved milking stool base; and box elder maple (Acer negundo) with a carved ebony box elder beetle.
Mended. Spalted maple, thread. I am often drawn to pieces of wood that show traces from the life of the tree or the decay that may ensue after it falls. Rather than avoid the large crevice left by a chainsaw and weathered as the log began to decay, I laid out this platter to feature it with the intent of adding the visible mend.
Texture – Eroded platter, carved and charred vessel, and insect carved bottle form: One of the things I like best about wood as a material is its inconsistency. Oak, and other ring-porous woods, feature alternating bands of fast-growing spring wood and slower-growing denser summer wood. Burning the finished piece with a torch and brushing away the loose material brings that grain inconsistency into a deeper texture. As wood begins to decay, insects and fungi will work on the material selectively, creating areas of different colors and hardnesses. Wire brushing the finished piece removes the softer areas and better shows the insects’ work.
Form – Conical vase, round bottom bowl, and copse of trees. I often draw inspiration from artists working in other media like ceramics or glass, particularly when it comes to form. I am especially drawn to some of the clean, simple forms common in midcentury design. The pieces in this grouping are united by some of these formal elements.
Avarice: Spalted maple, curly maple, ebony. An assemblage featuring a lidded box and 12 small open form vessels all turned from the same piece of spalted maple on a charred and brushed curly maple base. Some of the vessel forms are inspired by those in Bruegel’s engraving.
Water – Blackwater, Ripple, and natural edge vessel: Water, and the patterns found on its surface inspire a lot of my work. The natural coloration in the lightly spalted silver maple of the natural edge vessel and the bark inclusion it retains, the texture hand carved on the surface of Blackwater with a sharp carving gouge, and the diminishing ripples in the square platter show a few approaches to this theme.
Pricing and availability
Available works may be purchased at any time directly from me. Simply contact me here, at adam@newcenturywoodworks.com or at 802-318-7447 and I will send you an invoice to pay by card, venmo, or check. Works may be picked up after the conclusion of the show on 1/3/2027, pickup arrangements will be made at the time of purchase.
Similar works may also be available at my upcoming in person art fairs and holiday markets including: Burlington Farmers Market 10/24, Paradise City Marlboro MA 11/20-11/222, Good Trade Makers Market, S Burlington 11/5, and Hotel VT Holiday market 11/12.
| Piece | Price |
| Mostly Sunny | 850.00 |
| Projections #2 | 525.00 |
| Vermont Maple Delivers | 625.00 |
| Mended | Not currently available |
| Eroded platter | 150.00 |
| Charred and carved vessel | 150.00 |
| Bottle form | 75.00 |
| Concial vase | 475.00 |
| Round bottom bowl | 95.00 |
| Copse of trees | 95.00 |
| Avarice | 725.00 |
| Blackwater | Not for sale |
| Natural edge vessel w/ painted rim | 75.00 |
| Ripple | 175.00 |