Vehicles of Expression: The Craft of Skateboarding
Los Angeles is the birthplace of skateboarding. From its very inception the skateboard has been the product of MacGyvering things together, drawing from hockey, roller skating, surfing and go carts. This exhibition will be one the very first to substantively present skateboards as material culture and as handcrafted objects of artistic expression. In terms of design, material, and construction, skateboards are some of the most common, widespread crafted objects in our world yet they have generally been overlooked by museums. Skateboards can be artfully made and used for equally artful performative acts. Intended to show wear and tear as badges of pride, these carefully crafted objects exist in a state of potential ephemerality. This show will expand definitions of craft, art, and performance by looking at this beloved and familiar object. Arguably one of LA’s biggest cultural exports, the show will focus on the artistry and history of the handmade, handshaped skateboard.
Participating artists include: Matt Tomasello, Russ Howell, Lurker Lou Sarowski, Sam Helwig, Joe Ledoux, Alice Hixon Kirk, Adam Kindred, Abe Dubin, Todd Huber and others.
This exhibition/program is part of the 2026 Hyper SoCal initiative which brings awareness to nonprofit and municipal art venues supporting working artists in Southern California.
Tools of the Trades Opening Reception
Please join us to celebrate the opening of Tools of the Trades: American Handmade Implements & Devices, which is the first exhibition of the Handwork 2026 initiative.Tools of the Trades celebrates the ingenuity born of necessity and the special narratives in the hand-crafted. The specialized, laboriously handcrafted devices featured are used for a wide variety of craft applications: ceramics, textiles, hot glass, wood working, and metal, including the niche fields within them, such as ironwork or spinning.
Artists include: Anna Koplik, Arlen Heginbotham, Bosworth Spindles, Brent Bailey, Brien Beidler, Dennis Dusek, Dossain Valencia, Douglas Pryor, Dyakcraft, Eleanor Rose, Elia Bizzari, Fabiano Sarra, Heather McLarty, Indian Lake Artisans, Janet Fox of Handywomanshop, Jay Burnham Kidwell, Jeff Amundson, Jim Austin of Alchemy Metalworks, Jim Moore, John Williams of Guildwerks, Watanabe & Co., Kalia Kilban, Kelly Harris, Liza Nechamkin, Max Grossman, Med Chandler, Michael Sherrill / Mudtools, Andrea and Chuck Kennington of NC Black Co., Rachel Kedinger, Reid Schwartz, Saign Charlestein, Seth Gould, Shanna Leino, Spencer Hamann, Tom Latané, Will Larranaga, William R. Robertson and more.
Image credit: Prototype set of Mud Tools’ Petal Knives set. Photo by Michael Sherrill.
Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff, Jeffrey Bernstein, Norm Sartorius segment
In Washington, D.C., we visit the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian American Art Museum and meet three collectors who have donated work to the museum, Fleur Bresler, Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein. They explain why sharing their collections with the public is an essential part of their connection with artists and introduce us to Norm Sartorius, a sculptor who makes fascinating and original wooden spoons. Segment from COLLECTORS episode.
Objects in Fleur, Judith and Jeffrey’s collections
Learn more about the objects in Fleur Bresler‘s collection and Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein‘s collections. Bonus video from COLLECTORS episode streaming on the PBS App November 12, 2024. PBS broadcast premiere December 27, 2024
Artist Talk: Martin Alexander and Lauren Verdugo
On the occasion of the exhibition, Building Blocks: Process & Wood, Los Angeles-based artists Martin Alexander and Lauren Verdugo talk about their work and their shared interests in materiality, reconceptions of functionality, and expressions of identity. Both artists were filmed for the Craft Video Dictionary.
Martin Alexander Hernandez is a multidisciplinary sculptor and woodworker. He graduated from California State University, Long Beach with a BFA in Woodworking in 2018. Shortly after this, he opened his studio practice, Martin Alexander Studio, in Los Angeles, California. Since then, he has produced sculptural work and designed furniture utilizing both his personal studio and wood shops throughout the Los Angeles area. He has also honed his skills by apprenticing under a variety of artists and furniture studios.
Hernandez’s work fuses traditional craft techniques with a conceptual design approach. He is interested in material sustainability, often producing sculptural work with found materials. He currently serves as the shop tech at Allied Woodshop in Los Angeles.
Lauren Verdugo is a Southern California-based artist, woodworker, and furniture designer. Verdugo began their formal training in 2016 by apprenticing with master woodworker Larry White, whom they met through an internship at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof foundation. They went on to complete their BA in Applied Design at San Diego State University in 2021, and are currently enrolled in the Wood MFA program at California State University, Long Beach.
Verdugo’s designs emphasize the unique attributes of their source material, including history, meaning, and physical features. Minimalist forms are punctuated by playful decorative elements. Verdugo rhythmically juxtaposes hard and soft lines, heavy and light features, resulting in works which appear sturdy, yet distinctly energetic. In addition to their multimedia arts practice, they teach wood workshops at the Sam and Alfreda Maloof Foundation in Alta Loma, California and at Allied Woodshop in Los Angeles.
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Artist Talk: Larry White
Woodworking artist Larry White talks about his development with Sam Maloof and his ensuing decades-long practice in both woodworking and art. Learn about his stream-of-consciousness creative process and how his inspiration comes from a wide range of sources.
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Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein
Based in Laurel, Maryland, Judith Chernoff and Jeffrey Bernstein are craft advocates and avid collectors. They focus on sculptural and turned wood but collect a range of other media, including baskets, ceramics, fiber and glass.
Over the past thirty years, their wood collection has grown to include outstanding museum quality pieces from artists nationally and around the world. With the belief that sharing their collection with the public is what gives it greater meaning, they recently donated 43 objects in wood to the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Renwick Gallery. In addition, over the years, they have opened their home to give educational collection tours to many wood centered groups and those new to wood.
Jeffrey and Judith have each held the position of President of Collectors of Wood Art, Jeffrey from 2009–2010 and Judith from 2014–2016. Judith has also been a volunteer docent at the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery since 2012.
Norm Sartorius
A creator of wooden spoons for 30 years, Norm Sartorius has explored the common wooden spoon as a context for sculpture. Using rare and unusual woods of exceptional beauty, he shapes each spoon to stand as a unique artistic statement of color, form, and texture. Testing the boundary between art and craft, his work is inspired by the material, nature, and rich ethnic spoon making traditions worldwide. In the end, it is always the dialogue between the maker and the wood that results in a form that happens to be a sculptural spoon. Often referred to as “Ceremonial Objects”, Sartorius’ spoons vary in size and shape, each being solely created by the artist.
Artist Talk: Reuben Foat and Ryan Taber
On the occasion of the exhibition, Building Blocks: Process & Wood, Los Angeles-based artists Reuben Foat and Ryan Taber will talk about their shared interest in reconsidering historic furniture processes and their perspectives on furniture education approaches and opportunities. Both artists were consulted for the Craft Video Dictionary.
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.
Foat was raised in Mukwonago, Wisconsin and attended the University of Wisconsin where he received a BS in Art 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 MFA with a concentration in furniture design and digital fabrication. Foat currently works out of his studio in Long Beach, California, while serving as a professor and chair of the Woodworking Department at Cerritos College.
Ryan Taber is an artist, woodworker, and educator. Since 2015, he has served as head of the Wood program at the School of Art at California State University, Long Beach. The program has continued to evolve under Taber’s leadership, emphasizing sustainability and critical thinking at every step in the creative process.
Taber’s art practice is discursive, drawing on painting, photography, sculpture and furniture making. Each piece utilizes an intricate web of historical references to interrogate notions of art and visual culture. The work considers historical shifts in social perspectives on objecthood and materiality, which is reflected in the CSULB Wood program’s initiative to up cycle wood from nearby dead trees in order to reduce the industrially produced materials used by students. The challenges inherent in working with imperfect, recycled wood encourage Taber’s students to continuously problem solve and maintain an ongoing dialogue with their materials.
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Building Blocks: Process & Wood Opening Reception
Please join the artists to celebrate the opening of this exhibition featuring new interpretations of wood in traditional methods. This exhibition presents objects that express contemporary perspectives while having been constructed through a variety of techniques that have been the essential building blocks for shaping furnishings over time.
Participating Artists: Reuben Foat, Martin Alexander, Ryan Taber, Lauren Verdugo, Larry White and Max Wilson