Ash Vessel, 1998 ash 38 1/2 in. x 13 5/8 in. x 13 1/2 in. (97.79 cm x 34.61 cm x 34.29 cm) The Arkansas Arts Center Foundation Collection: Gift of John and Robyn Horn, 1998. 98.19
Howard Werner
During the creative process, Werner believes that "less is better." He is influenced by the simple elegant forms found in Japanese architecture and the primitive carvings of Oceania and West Africa. His shares certain minimalist impulses with those carvers, whose work is typified by the need to work simply, directly, and economically. Werner is also a student of the history of furniture making.
Trained in the craft tradition, the artist uses function as a reference for his sculptural forms - such as this bowl mounted on a pedestal. The raw, roughly hewn form, emphasizing the solid form of the tree, stands as a visual reaction to what the artist feels are "excesses" in contemporary furniture making.
In Ash Vessel the solid pedestal has been barely squared off and the rim of the bowl clearly reveals the outer bark. This approach helps to orient the viewer to the grain and figuration of the wood, reminding us further that the work has its origins in nature. In contrast, the role of the artist is emphasized by the marks left behind, in this case, by the chainsaw, as though he were drawing on wood.
Born 1951 in Deal, New Jersey, Werner received his B.F.A. from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1977. He now resides in Mount Tremper, New York.
  
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