Tables by Chista
25 August 2010
“Tree of Life”
There is a type of furniture that is most intriguing but largely unobtainable, the type of furniture that tends to revolve around simpler concepts and more organic sources for the materials. People do make this stuff, but all the good stuff, as they say, always seems to be taken. Worse than that, I think, is that work that was really designed for homes ends up in museums for the most part. I do know that woodworkers get awfully happy when one of their works is selected for such a fate, but to me, it really is a fate, and not a pleasant one. Furniture that is not used really isn’t furniture at all, but, man, try telling that to the curator of any historic house you may care to mention. They won’t let you touch anything, let alone sit in it. Even so, there are those among us who would like to do something outrageous with these pieces; they would like to bring them home and put them to use. I say all that by way of introduction, and to point out that the picture at the top of this blog was not taken in a modern art museum, but in a showroom devoted to the sale of the subject of today’s blog, namely Chista furniture.
Looking at work like this I almost feel like two people, because I tend to look at it from two entirely different points of view. The woodworker in me is intrigued with the many problems inherent in doing this kind of work, starting with where one goes to get materials such as these. Some of the pieces we show here are formed from the roots and bases of teak trees. So, how does one get that sort of thing to the shop, and once it is there, how does one casually slice off a slab or two in preparation for one of the glorious coffee tables we see here? And after the initial cuts have been made, how does one plane the wood, because that’s all end grain, and no woodworker really cares to work with it because of the problems with grain direction. And what is the thought process involved in going from raw tree base to a finished, gleaming innovative coffee table? Problems of the craft.
The other person, to continue our discussion, is pretty much like the rest of us, just a guy standing there with his mouth open in absolute awe of what Chista has managed to accomplish with their designs. Chista was founded in 1990 and took as their mission nothing less than exploring “the roots of primitivism and modernism, the found and the sculptural in the everyday, and the monumental.”
One of the things I find especially intriguing about their coffee tables is what they would add to just about any decor, really. They would surely be right at home in one of those ultra modern New York apartments, but they could also fit right in with an Arts and Crafts living room. It’s because what they have done here is very much of the Earth, as the saying goes.
There is something wonderfully elemental about both their designs and the way they were executed. In that regard, I should point out that the three-legged table we show here is a dining table, because it just seems like the perfect table for a family, especially for the parents. The children who sit round such a table touch it with their laughter, and the years pass, and the grandchildren come, and the two constants are the family and a table that was already ancient when the family began. Ones own tree of life, as it were.
Joseph
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5 Responses to “Tables by Chista”
August 25th, 2010 at 1:03 PM
Wow! That is some pretty spectacular furniture!
August 25th, 2010 at 1:20 PM
That is some really beautiful furniture. I am completely amazed at the quality and natural beauty of these pieces. This kind of wood does not exist anymore, and anyone would be lucky to own any of their beautiful pieces. Their website shows many more things, that are equally as amazing.
August 25th, 2010 at 1:45 PM
Very interesting stuff. I wish they listed the prices on their web site. It would be nice to see what they charge for these pieces.
Joe
August 25th, 2010 at 6:27 PM
With Chista I ended up downloading considerably more images that our space limitations would let us use. They really do some extraordinary work.
August 26th, 2010 at 7:34 AM
Boy when I need to research something, I’m putting you on it! Where do you find this stuff? Amazing tables. Would love #2 for my VT.