private collection
When i first started making furniture I attempted to combine Art Nouveau style shaping with marquetry panels. I was enamored of the work of Émile Gallé and Louis Majorelle. Their work had those lovely sweeping lines and engaging botanical marquetry.
I lived in Rochester, New York and there was a veneer dealer in Buffalo that was accessible. I made several trips there. Some veneer are just spectacular and it was the beginning of a probably unhealthy desire to collect wood.
One of the veneers I bought was a marbled olive-ash. I didn’t know what i would use it on, but I was entranced. I eventually settled on the door to this cabinet. The cabinet itself had the carving that had first gotten me interested in woodworking. I made the marquetry the focus of the piece and brought the panel up close to eye level.