Ode’ to George
This work was inspired by the legendary American woodworker, architect, and furniture maker George Nakashimi, who was one of the leading innovators of twentieth-century furniture design. His signature designs include tables made of large wood slabs with smooth tops but unfinished “live” edges, consisting of multiple slabs connected with butterfly joints, which Bird has beautifully recreated here.
About the Artist
John Bird
b. 1961
John Bird is a furniture designer who trained at the prestigious Parnham College in Dorset, United Kingdom under the tutelage of John Makepeace. He has exhibited his stand-alone furniture, which is typically made from reclaimed materials, in Europe, Canada, and the Cayman Islands. He uses a variety of woods, skilfully finishing his pieces with power tools, chisels and sanding to achieve a gleaming smooth finish. His work was awarded second prize in 2011 at the Ogier art awards and was featured in the NGCI exhibitions Revive: Contemporary Caymanian Craft (2017) and Cross Currents – 1st Cayman Islands Biennial (2019).
