Alex Roskin, Roco Console, USA, 2017

Alex Roskin’s Roco Console beautifully blends corporeal form and elegant material; fine art and functional craft. The sculptural console takes influence from modernism and primitivism with its warm reflective bronze surface and organic shape. Roskin begins with a sculpted form, often anatomical in nature, resembling wishbones or ribs. The bronze top is molded then cast in true bronze giving it a rich, rose gold color before being polished to a nearly mirror finish. The base of the table, bowed and fluid, extends down to meet the hand-carved walnut legs. Unvarnished, the console is designed to take on a rich patina as it ages.

Alex Roskin was born in Toulouse, France. After receiving a BFA in sculpture from Alfred University, School of Art and Design, he honed his craft through an apprenticeship that promoted a strong focus in traditional English-Style furniture making. The apprenticeship, modeled after the famed 20th Century British Craft designer/maker Edward Barnsley, intensified his understanding and application of hand tool technique in lieu of power tools. Roskin went on to teach himself TIG welding and metal work and in 2000 he earned his MFA in Furniture Design from Rhode Island School of Design. Inspired by innovators such as Richard Serra, Wendel Castle, Constantin Brancusi, Roskin’s works carry on the traditions of the best of the studio furniture movement—blending sculpture with craft.

Of his own work, Roskin noted, “I try with each piece to create a stance and a presence, some with more contrapposto. I aim to give each piece a feeling that it’s inhaling or ready to make a move. I try to steer clear of the decorative, but to draw on mass, volume, line, negative space, and my love of materials and the craft of working with them.”

Bronze and walnut.

36 H x 43 W x 12 inches