Lot 139: J. B. Blunk

ca. 1985 buckeye burl

measurements note 58 x 36 x 12 3/4 in. (147.3 x 91.4 x 32.4 cm)

J. B. Blunk?s experimental and adventurous sculptural furniture epitomized the spirit of 1960s California design. Blunk first studied ceramics, earning a degree from UCLA and apprenticing in Japan where he became friends with Isamu Noguchi, who proved a lifelong influence on his work. He returned to California in the mid-1950s and began creating monumental wood sculptures and furniture in the early 60s. Using large and unusual wood pieces found near his home in Inverness, Blunk created works that were an extension of the "reverence for wood" movement exemplified by George Nakashima. As Lee Nordness stated in Objects USA, ?Since 1961 Blunk has been creating wood sculptures in which functional elements are only broadly implied.?