MANCHESTER, NH – The chair, a commonplace object that can be found in some form or fashion in virtually every American home. Yet this functional object can take many different forms, each a reflection of the vision of the individual designer or maker. The New Hampshire Furniture Masters explore the appeal of this versatile object in their newest gallery installation, “Just Chairs: A Survey of Side Chairs,” an exhibition of over 20 chairs created by current and former members of the NH Furniture Masters as well as by a number of invited chair makers. The exhibition will be on view at the Furniture Masters’ Gallery, located at 49 South Main Street in Concord, NH, from April 12 through June 11, 2013. An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 19 from 5:00-7:00 p.m., in conjunction with Art Concord/Art Walk.

“The chair is obviously not a new type of furniture. It probably came into being when an unknown cave person decided to dovetail a stick on to a rock to make a backrest,” NH Furniture Master and Gallery Director Ted Blachly jests. “Yet a chair is one of the more challenging pieces of furniture that a maker can build. The knowing craftsman understands the stresses that will be imposed upon it during its life and strives to address these structural concerns in an elegant way.”

“Just Chairs” includes work by current Furniture Masters Ted Blachly, Jon Brooks, Garrett Hack, Howard Hatch, David Leach, Tom McLaughlin, Terry Moore, Jere Osgood, and Thom Walsh as well as former members Brian Braskie & Lenore Howe (two of the group’s founders), Omar Clairmont, John McAlevey, and Jon Siegel. The Furniture Masters are also delighted to include works by invited chair makers David Friedline, David Masury, Tim Rousseau, Walker Weed, and Brian Weir as well as historical examples by renowned designers George Nakashima, Duncan Phyfe, and Hans Wegner.