Quinn,H, From the Cabinet of Curiosity (review of exhibition at Lauraine Diggins Fine Art Gallery, Caulfield, Victoria, Nov-Dec 1998), Australian Wood Review, March 1999, pp. 65-66.
Containers for treasures. Containers for memories. A collection of 21 furniture pieces by Helmut Lueckenhausen brings an understated poetic design aesthetic to fine furniture making.
Furniture making is a pragmatic art. With the conception of a new piece there are a number of key design decisions to be made. A careful selection of materials and finishes, and the concentration on the skilful resolution of junctions. A consideration of ergonomics. For the mature practitioner these fundamental processes have become second nature and often no longer present a significant challenge in themselves.
For a speculative piece, deciding what to make often becomes the most crucial task. If the work is for a public show it will surely be closely scrutinised for the skill in making, as a high level of craft is to be expected. Often the significant questions are beyond the pragmatics of making, in the realm of design ideas and intent.
Storage, cabinets, a place to put things. These are pragmatic issues, but furniture making can also be a poetic art. In From The Cabinet of Curiosity there is never just a box. And yet in Lueckenhausen’s case poetry is not an unconstrained flight of artistic imagination, but the product of considerable discipline. The making is clearly subservient to the initial design ideas, with decisions made in construction always referenced to the original concept. Here the latter is in essence quite simple: a strong three-dimensional form unexpectedly opens to reveal a precious interior space. Lueckenhausen's sculptural forms are unique and the culmination of many years' exploration. Inside each object there's something more to be revealed, a hidden treasure, or story to tell.
Delicacy, sensuality, pleasure. These are words, which convey something of the evocative and emotional feel this work provokes. While the immediate
response is not intellectual, on reflection we can see that the objects also look closely at the role of the collector and the idea of display, raising the question of why people collect, and what these objects that are collected add to the fabric of the lives they touch.
The large ‘Wundercabinets' are durably constructed from contrasting Australian species, silky oak and silver ash. Silky oak has a richness and depth of colour to the highly figured grain that is the perfect material for the collector's fetish. Pale silver ash is a subtle contrast and adds visual lightness to the form. The use of glass and a sterling silver key evoke associations with gallery display systems and memories of museum collections with precious objects stored in glass-fronted cabinets. And yet the form gives a sense of pleasure and humour, which is often not experienced within the walls of any museum or library.
Wunderkind' are a range of small containers in Huon pine and anodised aluminium, (320 x 150 x 150mm). The base of each is aluminium with a simple drawer; the top is hand- sculpted to invite touch. Each opens to reveal space as precious as the exterior suggests. The sense of pleasurable discovery involved in revealing the hidden space within the top structure and opening the piece is almost like unfolding the petals of a flower.
'Teraph' in Huon pine and MDF stands with human proportions, 1890 x 550 x 350mm. A tall, totemic, sculptural pair flanked the entry to the exhibition. Each opens to reveal an interior space designed to hold the small, precious objects of value. Treasures hidden within another precious object. The work invites investigation; these pieces have real presence beyond the mere physical space they inhabit. These special containers of Lueckenhausen will surely house a wealth of future memories.
Helen Quinn is Director of Detail Design, Melbourne.
Art Gallery of Western Australia.
November 1998
Reviewed by Lesley Morgan
