Vancouver artist Steven Pollock fuses wood and concrete into amazing one-of-a-kind furniture sculptures.
We first saw Steven Pollock’s work at the East Side Culture Crawl. We went back to visit him at his studio which is a super cool space in itself. Located in an old factory on the tracks turned into an artist commune the place is bursting with creative energy. Even the outside walls are always changing murals as graffiti artists constantly paint over each other’s work in what was described to me as a turf war.
Steven works primarily with wood and concrete. When I tried to picture a table made of concrete the first thing that came to mind was something dull, grey and unseemly. I had absolutely no idea that concrete could be so beautiful. Simple yet elegant these furniture sculptures struck me as timeless in that they would never go out of sytle but also that they would not succumb to any sort of natural disaster. They’re created from start to finish in Steven’s studio which is just as much a workshop complete with his own cement mixer and a massive vibrating table to set the concrete. As the process was explained to me I was surprised at how complicated and delicate the nuances of concrete can be.
After wearing a tie and working for an IT company for 10 years Steven started to crave a forum for personal expression. He’d had a good experience with an inspiritational shop teacher in high school and loved carpentry but hadn’t done it in years. He was passionate about furniture and so he went down to California and was mentored in the art of mixing concrete. He came back to Vancouver in 2002 and has relied almost solely on word of mouth to find prospective clients. He has a very laid back attitude when it comes to business and has faith in himself sometimes spending months on a single piece.
What I like most about Steven’s work is that he takes concrete, the most commonly used man-made product, and makes it into something completely unique. Check out his website – www.woodstonedesign.ca
This man’s work is amazing. I love the combination of the wood and the concrete together, the cool and the warm. It creates a real sense of calm.
That is the way that i felt also when i first saw Steven’s work. I would encourage you to take a look at Steven’s website if you haven’t done that already.
I agree with Anna–I love his minimalist style, and very successful mix of two very different materials..
Carol Wiebe recently posted..FYI
great, do you have myspace?
Great work, webmaster, nice design!