Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design

October 12, 2013 – January 20, 2014

Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design

Featuring nearly 90 installations, sculptures, furniture and objects, Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design explored the most cutting-edge conceptual, current and technical trends in woodworking by artists and designers including: Sarah Oppenheimer, Martin Puryear, Marc Andre Robinson, Alison Elizabeth Tayor, Ai Weiwei, Maartin Baas, Sebastian Errazuriz, Mark Moskovitz and Ursula von Rydingsvard. The exhibition emphasized the way artists, designers and craftspeople have incorporated post-modernist approaches and strategies into woodworking ñ deconstructing vessel shapes, playing on the relationship between function and form, and utilizing woodturning and furniture techniques in the creation of sculpture.

Organized by the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD), New York, and curated by Lowery Stokes Sims, Charles Bronfman International Curator at MAD, assisted by Elizabeth Edwards Kirrane, Assistant Curator at MAD.

Additional Support

Image: Martin Puryear, A Skeuomorphic Wing Chair, 2012, staved and carved pine with maple legs, courtesy of the artist; photo credit: Ed Watkins.

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Exhibitions

Currently on View

Piero Penizzotto, Kings of Comedy (Chris, Imani, Bernard, Calvin, Dre), 2024 Papier-mâché, foam and acrylic Photography by Oriol Tarridas Courtesy of the Artist and Primary

Close to Home

June 7 - October 4, 2026
William J. Glackens, Along the Marne, 1925, Oil on board, NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale, bequest of Ira D. Glackens 91.40.107

Defining Landscapes

May 7 - July 26, 2026
Frantz Zéphirin, Ceremonie Zeïdes Medji La Mère des Erzulies (Ceremony of the Zeïdes Medji, the Mother of the Erzulies.), 2016, Acrylic on canvas, 20 x 24 inches, Copyright the artist, courtesy of CENTRAL FINE and El-Saieh.

Frantz Zéphirin: The Messenger

June 7 - October 4, 2026
Asger Jorn, Individuum Ineffable (Ineffable Personality), 1966, Acrylic on paper mounted on canvas, 21.7 x 18.5 in (55.2 x 46.9 cm), NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale; Cobra Collection; gift of Golda and Meyer Marks M-98.30. © 2025 Donation Jorn, Silkeborg / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / VISDA; Photograph by Angelika Rinnhofer.

Asger Jorn: Luck and Chance

September 21, 2025 - August 9, 2026