six stunning sculpted wood entry doors
now offering a nearly 30% trade discount from original pricing
an incredibly rare set from an architectural commission
by noted northwest artist Harold Balazs (see links below)
from St. Teresa the Martyr church, Renton, Washington, c. 1968
monumentally scaled at 10′ tall and 3′ wide x 2.5″ thick
solid mahogany frame with cedar sculpted interlocking pieces
copper sheet metal and nail head details
extremely well crafted, both sides of each door are uniquely sculpted
excellent condition, no damage or weathering
some with custom wood and copper door pulls
hardware was attached with minimal impact; easily removed
original oiled wood finish (set in photos given fresh oil finish)
6 available; sold individually or in pairs, $4,800
use as doors, decorative architectural panels or a screen
In this commission Balazs avoids obvious representational religious symbols, but manages to convey a personal spirituality, a reverence for man and nature, exploring themes that relate to those of earlier artists and craftspeople in the Pacific Northwest.Though stylistically unique and very independent, artists like Morris Graves, Guy Anderson, Mark Tobey, Kenneth Callahan (among others) eventually became identified as part of “The Northwest School” – due to shared regional and spiritual themes about man and nature, about connectedness and isolation, abstraction and representation.Balazs’ doors reflect some of these influences while also making reference to the Northwest Coast Native American wood carving traditions. The sculpted panels’ non-representational, abstracted wave-like patterns suggest the interconnectedness of all things (god, man, land, water, sky…).Simple, yet incredibly complex, these forms express diversity and unity, celebrating the individual pieces as unique and separate, while also woven into and inseparable from the whole.
HW
“The vision is personal; it is valid; and it belongs to no one else.”
“With Harold, I witnessed the loving shaping of material as integral to the idea.The closer the material was to the hand, the more meaningful the shaping became.The art came from the underlying physics of that shaping, with energy from the hand, arm, and body of the craftsperson being transmitted to the tools shaped by humans and to the material that yielded to hand and tool.”
“…that magical leap that happens between the imagination, the hand, the tool, and the material … (his is) a timeless contact, a meaningful contact, and ultimately, a humanistic contact.”
Tom Kundig, architect
forward from “Harold Balazs”, University of Washington Press, 2010
for images of Harold Balazs’ work:
link for book on Harold Balazs:
http://www.amazon.com/Harold-Balazs-Thomas-T-Wilson/dp/0295990597
