New York, lukemalaney.com
We first met Brooklyn woodworker Luke Malaney when we adopted his wavy hand-carved nightstand into our Collection, but this year he made his practice a little more interesting with the addition of hammered, patinated, torched, and waxed copper elements to his pieces, alongside his use of organic forms, paints, and dyes. We love a solo woodworker and Malaney — who studied traditional techniques with an old-school artisan in Rome — has the skills, but we do appreciate a twist on the genre.

What is American design to you, and what excites you about it?

It’s up in the air, really — a pretty vast spectrum. Technology has been on my mind lately when thinking of American design. Trying to understand what these new robotic ways of designing mean for my work, if anything. I don’t own a computer and I’m comfortable with that. I enjoy making my pieces from start to finish by hand, with old and modern machinery and hand tools. And learning how these materials react with the tools and machines, which took a long time.

I enjoy mistakes and imperfections; sometimes mistakes turn into the design, sometimes the wood wants to do something else. Maybe that’s why some of these robotics make me feel a lack of intimacy with materials. A lack of connection with the work being created. But no matter the approach, the common thread remains. There are no real rules. You can hop on a cruise ship or kayak down a river, but it’s really about navigating the same body of water together, no matter the vessel.

What are your plans and highlights for the upcoming year?

I have some exciting commissions in the works. I’m looking forward to continued exploration into the materials I’m working with and seeing what doors they open, and close. I’d like to do some residencies this year — the idea of getting out of New York to make some new work in a different setting sounds refreshing. A couch, too. I definitely want to make a couch this year.

What inspires or informs your work in general?

Every time I go back to my mom’s house I get inspired. She’s always up to something — an artist in her own right, eclectic, has a good eye, and has a way of making the ridiculous work. I remember coming home as a kid one day and one of the walls in the house was covered in old clocks. Or the front door will just be painted purple. Currently she has all these vintage bird cages hanging from the ceiling. Her robust boldness is a constant inspiration to me and how I approach my work.

Another recent inspiration has been the COBRA art movement, which was an avant-garde style of painting and sculpture from 1948-1951 in Europe. The spontaneous and experimental approach from painters like Karel Appel is something I resonate with. Sometimes I’ll end up drawing a piece after it’s made. I’ve also been sparked on finding ways to blend paint and color into my work. Finding that inner child.

I also get inspired every time I see an old barn, cabin, or piece of furniture. Just the way they were made and the use of joinery; you can see where the joint was pinned, and it’s apparent it’s outlasted its maker. I learned from an old-time woodworker so it’s important for me to practice the principles of joinery in woodworking, providing longevity to the piece and an apparent touch of the hand.