Yesterday I wrote here about Wendell Castle’s new exhibition, and today a post about the man who was famously one of the most talented students of Castle’s during his tenure at Rochester Institute of Technology. I was thrilled to host designer/maker David N. Ebner as a guest speaker in a class devoted to his own work as a part of the program Collecting Design: History, Collections, Highlights at the New York School of Interior Design. One of the most ambitious, accomplished, and skillful figures of the world of studio furniture today, Ebner is a graduate from the legendary School for American Craftsmen at the Rochester Institute of Technology, which was founded in the 40s by philanthropist/potter Aileen Vanderbilt Webb. He had come to be nationally known in 1975, when his work was selected for the Renwick Gallery at the Smithsonian Institute’s National Gallery of Fine Art, and has since made his name with meticulously-crafted, beautifully designed pieces that have gradually come to be portrayed in a developed language, based on the skilled craftsmanship. He has shared with us the stories behind the scene and the magic of making a wood workshop successfully employed in our day. He spoke about the value of being educated at SAC, and illuminated his commitment, skills, and energy, speaking highly about the two figures that have become shape his world: Wharton Esherick and his teacher Wendell Castle. I would like to thank David for taking part in the program Collecting Design and for sharing all in the most genuine and generous way.
