A thing of beauty is a joy forever. What, then, is an exhibition of 100 exquisite objects by Georgia's first family of crafts, Ed, Philip and Matt Moulthrop?
You can answer the question yourself by visiting the Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, where the largest showing of three generations of Moulthrop work, including platters and tables as well as all manner of signature vessels, is on display through Dec. 18.
It is fitting that Carr McCuiston, owner of the Signature Shop crafts gallery, curated the show. Her predecessor, founder Blanche Reeves, was the one who discovered and championed Ed Moulthrop's wood-turned vessels, and the gallery still represents the family.
The senior Moulthrop, who died in 2003, was a pioneer in his field. The Princeton-trained architect had to design and make his own tools and build a special lathe in order to pursue his vision and feats of scale.
An abstract sculpture, a wood version of a classic Eames chair and a frilly-edged bowl are among the examples of the experimentation that preceded his homing in on the clean-lined, mostly spherical vessels now found in museums and homes, including the White House.
Ed's son Philip, 64, and Philip's son Matt, 34, have built upon Ed's foundation and mentoring. In 1992 Philip added a dramatic new element to his repertoire: his “mosaics” -- created by embedding small slices of wood in black-tinted resin -- allow him to incorporate multiple types of wood into one piece. (A coffee-table top made this way using Eastern poison ivy is the only good thing to come from that nefarious plant!)
In the nine years of his professional career, Matt has honed his skills, experimented with positive and negative space, and come up with ways to find new patterns in wood grain.
The differences among the Moulthrops is subtle, in part because they all operate on such a high level, in part because the use a similar repertory of shapes and forms, and because they share the conviction that the shape is the servant of the wood.
Oh, the wood. The Moulthrops use mostly Southern species already felled, often the ones dismissed as “junk trees.” Like Michelangelo finding the figure in a chunk of marble, they have developed a sense of the possibilities of grain, patterns and a rich palette -- coffee, tawny gold, lipstick red, yellow-green -- hidden in these unassuming logs.
The ash leaf maple, also known as box elder, for example, provides stunning compositions of red drips and fine meandering black lines and dots. These and many of the most beautiful figures in the wood are the result of spalting, a fungal infection that causes decay. There's a metaphorical lesson here.
It is telling that all three Moulthrops started in other professions, working in wood as a hobby, before succumbing to its siren call. More than a career, wood turning is their vocation. The spiritual implication of the word is intentional: It's evident in the grace of the shapes and in the wonder evoked by the beauty and infinite variety of nature. How lucky we are that these artists have made it their mission to share it with us.
Catherine Fox is chief visual arts critic of ArtsCriticATL.com.
Art review
"Moulthrop: A Southern Legacy. Three Generations of Woodturning." Through Dec. 18. $8; $5, students and seniors; free for members and children under 6. 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesdays-Fridays; 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturdays; 1-4 p.m. Sundays. Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art. 30 Atlanta St., Marietta. 770- 528-1444, www.mariettacobbartmuseum.org.
Bottom line: A pleasure in every way.
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