Peter Pierobon’s favourites
Last week I shared American maker Michael Hurwitz’s, favourite pieces. In his replies to me he mentioned internationally renowned Canadian maker Peter Peirobon and his “Driftwood Dream” jewelry box.
Having talked with Peter several years ago while putting together a “Canadian Quotes” column for the magazine and slideshow of his work, I was pleased to be able to contact him again and let him know Michael and I were talking about his work. Peter enthusiastically responded to my request to hear about his favourites.
Favourite piece you’ve made?
Peter Peirobon, “Coast Range”
Pierobon: The piece that I’m most proud of would be my drinks cabinet titled “Coast Range.” In this piece I tried to capture the local topography of the area I live in, which is the Coastal Mountain Range in the Vancouver, B.C., area. Mountains rise up out of the ocean surrounding the city, which is also hemmed in by the water. It’s a truly beautiful composition. Secondarily, the area is riddled with fault lines that present an ever-present danger to the region and I wanted to incorporate their presence in the piece. Functionally, the cabinet comprises five separate boxes, each of which provides custom storage for various items, with the three center boxes pulling open and the two end ones accessed by opening a door.
Favourite Canadian-made piece?
Stephen Hogbin, “Chair”
Pierobon: The piece of Canadian furniture that I like the most would have to be Stephen Hogbin’s stack-laminated and turned “Chair” from 1974. This piece is a tour de force in many senses. The sheer scale of the glued-up block of wood 77″ in diameter with over 450 board feet of lumber is amazing. But even more importantly, after he turned this block, he cut up the result and reconfigured it into two chairs, a table and a shelf. The chairs in particular are very dynamic and make a beautiful sculptural statement.
Favourite internationally made piece?
Jeroen Verhoeven, “Cinderella Table”
Pierobon: The piece that stands out for me internationally is the “Cinderella Table” designed by Jeroen Verhoeven, which was his graduation project from the Design Academy in Eindhoven. This piece is considered to be an important example of how technology can be used to create a truly unique object. The result of a study into how high-tech machinery could be used in the field of product design, sketches of old furniture were put into a computer that translated them into a drawing that could only be created in the digital world. “Cinderella Table” morphs the outline of a baroque table on one side into a Bombe commode on another at 90° to one another. The original design is made possible using a five-axis CNC milling machine.
Rob is a studio furniture maker and the editor at Canadian Woodworking & Home Improvement. Instagram at @RobBrownTeaches
All three of these pieces are just jaw droppingly awesome. I love the thought behind Pierobon’s ‘ coast range ‘ leading to a unique but still practical and usable piece of furniture. Stephen Hogbin has always been impressive for the sheer size of his pieces but the design imagination that goes into them is over- whelming. While the last piece doesn’t really have any practical use I would love to make room for it just to gaze in awe and admiration.