American Studio Dragonfly Table by Andrew J. Willner

A table in the form of a dragonfly by American Studio craftsman, Andrew J Willner, executed in rare English brown oak, its eight individual sections sculpted by hand and constructed with pegged mortise and tenon joinery. Made during Willner’s tenure as wood artist in residence at Peters Valley School of Crafts, where he worked alongside Emil Milan and Karl Seemuller, this table is exceptionally realized and exemplifies Willner’s interest in the segmented forms of the natural world which became part of his signature fantastical style. Bears the artist’s carved initials and date to the underside, ‘AJW Sept. 73’. Well-preserved, likely refinished at some point.

Literature: Meilach, D. Z. (1975). Creating modern furniture (pp. 288–289). New York: Crown Publishers.

Andrew Willner is a modern polymath of sorts whose CV credits include those of boat builder, environmentalist, permaculturist, city planner, photographer, and public speaker in addition to master woodworker. He received his earliest training in woodworking in the basement wood shop of his grandfather who ran a lumber business selling reclaimed wood from construction sites.

He earned his Bachelor degree in City Planning at the University of Virginia, did his graduate study in furniture design and sculpture under Wendell Castle student, Alan Lazarus, at Virginia Commonwealth University in 1968 and 1969, and became the first woodworking artist in residence at then-experimental and now-renowned Peters Valley School of Crafts in Layton, New Jersey upon its founding in 1970. It was at Peters Valley that Willner first met Emil Milan who was to become his mentor and life-long friend. Examples of Willner’s work are included in the 2018 monograph, Emil Milan: Mid Century Master.

In the late 1970s, Willner met Vladimir Kagan at the Rhinebeck Craft Fair – – the chance encounter led to Kagan commissioning a chair design from Willner, to be available in several variations, for a show at Kagan’s NYC gallery. Willner used one of his early, original, bent and laminated designs for the commission and over the course of a year or so, a limited number of examples were sold through the Kagan showroom under the Kagan name with Willner credited as the designer.

In 1980, Muppets’ genius, Jim Henson, purchased a whimsical three-legged table of Willner’s at a gallery which was subsequently displayed in the foyer of his “Henson Townhouse” on NYC’s Upper East Side, then home to the Muppet Workshop. Henson was so enchanted by Willner’s design that he commissioned four additional unique creations.

Throughout the period of 1973 to 1984, Willner’s company, Andrew Willner Designs, created sculpture and furniture for gallery shows and exhibitions, publicly and privately commissioned works, and did architectural woodwork which included the creation of dreamlike, nearly Dali-esque staircases and handrails. His creations were widely exhibited during these years and now reside in museums and private collections in both the United States and Europe.

25.5 h x 34 w x 17.5 d (base 24 d)

Condition: good, age-appropriate wear

$8,500