Dan Phillips: Blackest Cloud

The hedgerows that separate fine art and craft are lowered when observing the diverse works of Dan Phillips. Phillips was formally trained in the traditional ways of cabinet and furniture making at the renowned craft and trade school of Boston’s North Bennet Street School. Since graduating from the program in 2005, he has made furniture for clients utilizing hundred-year-old hand tools to create classical designs that have roots in eighteenth century designs out of his Dallas, Texas studio. Simultaneously, he creates drawings and paintings on paper that share a similar aesthetic approach. Portraits, landscapes, whales, and trees are created using skillfully applied calligraphic lines completed by delicate washes of color pigment. Phillips’ furniture and preparatory drawings are simple and elegant with astute attention to detail.

In his Cell Series exhibit, Phillips presents both his art and craft together, with an installation of furniture, drawings, and paintings, allowing the viewer to observe how his creations share and benefit from their mutual art forms—creating a “Victorian meets modern” aesthetic.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website