Reuben Foat

Reuben Foat is a furniture designer and sculptor who is recognized for his traditional and technological approach to furniture. Finding inspiration in both old and new approaches to making, Foat creates much of his work using technologies like computer-aided-design and computer-aided-manufacturing. Through his creative practice, Foat’s innovative perspective to furniture design has led him to develop unique approaches to objects like public benches, coffee tables, rocking chairs, and more.

Foat was raised in Mukwonago, WI and attended the University of Wisconsin where he received his B.S.A. and learned furniture design. Foat then took on several positions as a cabinet maker, furniture restorer, and furniture designer before attending San Diego State University where he received his M.F.A. with a concentration in furniture design and digital fabrication. Foat currently works in the Allied Woodshop Studio in Los Angeles, CA while serving as a professor and chair of the Woodworking department at Cerritos College.

Foat has been the recipient of various honors including the Design Innovation Institute Award (2012); the McBray Award of Excellence (2014); 1st Place in wood design at the Design in Wood Exhibition (2014, 2015); and was featured in Woodcraft’s Magazine for Excellence in Design (2015).

CA Handmade, Reuben Foat, Conversation Cabinet, 2012 — Reuben Foat, Conversation Cabinet, 2012. Rizzhel Mae Javier photograph. Foat incorporates digital fabrication and traditional techniques into his furniture, accessories and sculptures. A pattern of waves, perhaps a reference to sound, or to Californian beaches, or both, drifts across the face of this cabinet to form a clever visual pun. Foat raises the question of whether or not furniture can elicit conversation and actively engage.