David Savage (artist)

David Binnington Savage (born 15 May 1948) is an English artist who works in wood as a bespoke furniture designer at his atelier in Shebbear, Devon. In the 1970s, Savage was a leading member of London Mural Movement and an early participant of the Cable Street Mural.^[1] He is the author of Furniture with a Soul (2011).^[2][3]

Early life

Savage was born David Binnington in Bridlington, Yorkshire, on the North Sea. He left to read Fine Art at the Ruskin School, Oxford University.^[4] Savage then studied at Royal Academy of Arts in London under Peter Greenham.

London public art and the Cable Street Mural (1973–1982)

Cable Street Mural on the side of St George's Town Hall

At the Royal Academy, Savage met Desmond Rochfort and they came up with the idea of large murals that would be created in otherwise neglected public spaces. They raised grants from The Arts Council of Great Britain, Westminster Council, The Greater London Arts Association and the Arts Board of The Greater London Council. This allowed the two artists, as The Public Art Workshop, to complete the Royal Oak Murals under the Westway flyover, near Royal Oak tube station in Paddington, London.^[5]

Finished in 1977 and dedicated 'to the working people of Paddington', they were the largest exterior murals in England at the time of their completion. The pieces are widely regarded as seminal in the Mural Movement in Britain: large scale, ideologically charged, political.^[6][7] Savage use the theme of 'workmanship' in his design, which was considered "more oblique in imagery than many that followed, but its message is not dissimilar to the occupy movement's today – the dehumanisation of a crushing capitalist machine."^[8] Richard Cork called it "an object lesson in how publicly sited murals can gain great resonance in their surroundings."^[1]

In 1976, Dan Jones, then Secretary of the Hackney Trades Council, asked Savage to paint a mural commemorating the Battle of Cable Street.^[9] In October 1936, Oswald Mosley had led a march of British Union of Fascists dressed in the style of Blackshirts through the East End of London. Despite the efforts of the police to protect the march, an opposing group of Jewish residents, Communists, trade unionists and Irish dockers gathered and stopped it during a day-long melee.^[10] Considered the turning point of public opinion against the growing Fascist movement in Europe, Public Order Act 1936 was passed soon after and began close regulation of political marches.

A grant from the Arts Council allowed Savage to undertake research before a public meeting in October 1978 to unveil his design. The finished painting would cover approximately 3,500 square feet (330 m²) of rendered wall outside 236 Cable Street, E1 0BL. Savage's design was partly inspired by the social realism of Diego Rivera with a fisheye perspective of the violent confrontation between police and protesters. The local population were generally supportive, although one critic called it "political graffiti".^[9]

Painting began in late 1979 with a targeted completion date of October 1980 but the work was more complicated and time consuming than expected and in 1982, while still under construction, the uncompleted mural was vandalised with right-wing slogans. Savage left the project. Rochfort, with Ray Butler and Paul Walker, completed it in March 1983. The iconic mural is perhaps the best known example of the genre in Britain.^[11]

Woodworking in Devon (1983 – present)

Elvis low coffee table by David Savage

Honduras Chaise Lounge Chair, in Rosewood by David Savage

Love chairs by David Savage

Table in ebony and chairs by David Savage

Savage began studying woodworking in Spitalfields, London.^[4] Then, in the early 1980s, Alan Peters began mentoring Savage in woodworking and cabinet making at his workshop near Cullompton, Devon. This was at the beginning of a revival in Contemporary British Crafts and Peters was considered a master in the field.^[12] In 1983 Savage left London and, with his partner Janet Savage, moved to Bideford, Devon with the space to establish a proper woodworking studio, David Savage Furnituremakers, which grew to 22 woodworkers. He was elected to Membership of the Devon Guild of Craftsmen that same year.^[13]

Savage began writing regular articles and technical pieces for The Woodworker, Furniture and Cabinet Making, and Good Woodworking and offering workshops.^[14] Through the publications, Savage's emerging style and voice became part of the "American Studio Furniture Movement."^[15] He also stressed the practical skills for new artists in acknowledgment of the struggle of making craftwork profitable. "There's no doubt that there are easier ways of making a living than this; however I can think of no more satisfying experience. Risk is an essential creative act. Without risk there's nothing new, but in this kind of business it's a matter of managing the risk."^[16] In 1989, he was elected to Society of Designer Craftsmen.

In 1991, Savage's marriage to his long-time partner ended and a few years later, the Bideford studio went into bankruptcy. In 1996, Savage moved his workshops to Rowden Farm near Shebbear, Devon. The new location was the start of a long-running productive period as Savage tuned his signature style.^[13] He launched the successful Rowden Farm Atelier, taking small numbers of students each year.^[17] In 2014, one of his students won the Royal Dublin Society Craft Award.^[18]

Influences and style

Savage crafts Studio Furniture, one-of-a-kind commissions or limited productions from cabinetry to large furniture pieces.^[19] He ensures usability in his products and stresses function.^[20]

Savage has often used sycamore, ash, cherry, oak, yew and walnut and relies mainly on polished shellac or oil and wax for finishing. He is also noted for a "scrubbed" finish; he works with a heavy bristle brush and hot water, bleach, and a bit of soap to scrub the tannins away from the wood which leaves a pale, lightly-textured surface. His work has a contemporary sensibility that often highlights shaped curves made by hand.^[21]

As a direct link to the Arts and Crafts movement, Peters taught a deep understanding and respect for the material wood and the natural surroundings.^[22] He was known for highlighting the source material with elegant furniture work. Similarly, Savage is noted for integrating the natural beauty of the materials with a "witty elegance" in which furniture becomes standalone sculpture.^[13] "I take my inspiration from the hedgerows around me, from the sea and the beaches and from the human form."^[23] Savage integrates this motif into his pieces; tabletops that resemble petals on a flower, for example. His work is remarked for movement and fluidity, as well.^[19]

Furniture with Style

In 2011, Savage's book was published by Kodansha Publishing. It is a portrait of 20 furniture makers; 10 master craftmakers and 10 new artists that were chosen for the beauty, craftsmanship and originality of their furniture.^[24] The subjects include John Makepeace, Judy Kensley McKie, Tom Hucker, and Savage himself.

The book received generally high reviews. "The book has a real intimacy in its biographical process; Savage through tacit knowledge empathizes with these master craftsman that no other could quite understand or unravel. The biographies were are insightful, relevant and well-researched."^[25] "Savage's accompanying narrative is as smooth and compelling as his own furniture, and reflective of his many years of experience and passion for his soulful craft."^[26] It also touches on the commercial side of the craft; "Savage illustrates the very important role of patronage and cultivated trust between client and artist."^[27]

Selected exhibitions

In March–April 2009, one of Savage's "Andromeda and Perseus" chairs was featured at a selling exhibition "21st Century Furniture – The Arts & Crafts Legacy" at The Millinery Works gallery in London.^[28] A second Exhibition was on the same theme was held in the spring of 2010, again with a Savage piece.^[29]

In 2012 and 2013, Gallery NAGA in Boston, Massachusetts created two exhibitions thematically based on Savage's book Furniture with Style.^[13] The first instalment featured ten established artists, counting Savage among them. The second included work from eight newer artists from the United States and the United Kingdom.^[4] The exhibitions were critically well received. Savage had two pieces in the exhibition: the monochromatic "Crazy Dave" and the colourful "Perseus chairs" made of waxed English Sycamore. Mark Favermann wrote; "Form, function, material and often whimsey and wit characterize the work in the Gallery NAGA exhibit. This is sculptural form not only with functional applications but with character and often personality."^[30]

In April 2014, Savage exhibited both the Perseus and Andromeda chairs in addition to a selection of drawings at the New York City ARTEXPO. The annual, juried exposition is one of the largest of its kind.^[31]

References

• http://www.finefurnituremaker.com/ (David Savage's website)