Lot 855: BERT FURNARI (b. 1968); Sectional coffee table, Easton, PA, 2014; Patterned and powder-coated aluminum; All signed and dated; Overall: 18" x 34 1/2" x 38", largest section: 18" x 21" x 18 1/2"; Provenance: From the artist, complete with certificate

BERT FURNARI (b. 1968); Sectional coffee table, Easton, PA, 2014; Patterned and powder-coated aluminum; All signed and dated; Overall: 18" x 34 1/2" x 38", largest section: 18" x 21" x 18 1/2"; Provenance: From the artist, complete with certificate of authenticity; ;
Bert Furnari brings an unconventional background to the design of his vibrant aluminum furniture. A self-taught metal worker with no formal education in design, he claims to have been influenced by Jasper Johns, as well as by folk artists and primitive painters, connecting with "the appreciation for patterns and what seems like an underlying need to create things." Indeed, Furnari culls and adapts the resources in his surroundings-a neighbor with an industrial powder coating setup, over a decade of experience in a sign shop-to create something entirely new and personal. Notwithstanding his status as an outsider artist, Furnari's designs boast an ambitious scale, complicated freeform organic shapes, and high quality construction that place him on equal footing with other more recognized studio craft artists.