ROCKPORT — “Straight from the Heart,” a farewell exhibition curated by the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship’s outgoing founder and executive director, Peter Korn, has opened at the school’s Messler Gallery in Rockport. The show runs through January 5, 2022, and visitors are welcome. 

The exhibition is Korn’s homage to mentors and peers whose work he greatly admires, whose friendship has enriched his five-decade career, and whose knowledge and participation have contributed to the success of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. It presents superlative pieces made by 17 renowned furniture makers, turners, and sculptors between 1965 and 2021.

“I love this exhibition,” says Korn, in a Messler news release. “It communicates the spirit, mission, and lineage of the school better than words ever could.” 

The four mentors in the show — Art Carpenter, Tage Frid, James Krenov, and Alan Peters — are among the legendary woodworkers for whom Korn was fortunate to serve as a teaching assistant, starting in the 1980s.

The twelve peers in the exhibition, all of whom have taught at CFC, are Brian Boggs (Asheville, North Carolina), Garrett Hack (Thetford Center, Vermont), David Haig (Nelson, New Zealand), Thomas Hucker (Jersey City, New Jersey), Beth Ireland (St. Petersburg, Florida), Tom Kealy (Somerset, United Kingdom), Silas Kopf (Northampton, Massachusetts), Aled Lewis (Machynlleth, Wales), Michael Puryear (Shokan, New York), Chris Pye (Hereford, United Kingdom), Tim Rousseau (Rockport), and David Upfill-Brown (Gerringong, Australia).

There are also four pieces in the show made by Korn (Rockland), himself, between 2005 and 2021.

The Messler Gallery is open Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. – 5 p.m. It is located at 25 Mill Street in Rockport, on the campus of the Center for Furniture Craftsmanship. The exhibition may also be seen on the Center’s website, www.woodschool.org.

The Center for Furniture Craftsmanship is a nonprofit, year-round school that offers courses in furniture making and related arts such as carving and woodturning. For more information, please call 207-594-5611 or email victoria@woodschool.org or visit our website at www.woodschool.org.