The Amazing World of J.B. Blunk

In the world of American Studio Furniture, J.B. Blunk (1926–2002) has remained a mystery. This California-based sculptor who created sensual and fantastic masterpieces in stone, wood, and clay, including jewelry, furniture, along with sculptures, has been ignored by those writing the this unique moment in the history of in American art. Blunk’s work looks like somewhere in between Brancusi, Henry Moore, and Noguchi, between Japan and Northern California, and has been praised by collectors for years. A new monograph comes to shed light upon this artist who merged life and art in Northern Californian, loved Japanese aesthetics and cherished Zen Buddhism. It is edited by his art curator daughter Mariah Nielson.  

‘His courage and independence,’ his friend and mentor Isamu Noguchi said about Blunk, ‘is typically California, or at least Western with a continent between to be free from the categories that are called art.’ In the book, we learn that the two met in Japan, where Noguchi introduced him to potters of the Mingei Movement, where he had apprenticed in unglazed stoneware tradition, and where his vision and language were shaped. During his four years in Japan, Blunk developed a passion for the wabi-sabi approach to wood, and for the intimate relationship between man and nature. 

In this beautiful volume, which examines the legacy of Blunk from various points of views – his connection to Japanese clay art, the long-lasting relationship with Gordon Onslow Ford,  his choice of materials – we get a glimpse into the life and work of this extraordinary artist. He was living in a handmade house in Marin Country, which looks as it it came out of a fairy tale; this house became his lifetime statement. We learn about Blunk’s iconic ‘seating sculptures,’ each is different, each is a functional work of art, and about his extraordinary and authentic oeuvre. This book is mandatory edition to any art library. 

Above: Untitled Stone 8 1/2 x 8 1/2 inches  21.59 x 21.59 cm  Photo Daniel Dent  ©JB Blunk Collection. 

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Penis Stool #1, c. 1975 Redwood 16 x 14 x 12 1/2 inches 40.64 x 35.56 x 31.75 cm Photo Daniel Dent ©JB Blunk Collection

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Scarp Chair, 1968, made in Cypress.

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#2 Arch, 1976 Redwood 60 x 51 x 21 inches 152.4 x 129.54 x 53.34 cm ©JB Blunk Collection

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Tokonoma in JB Blunk’s house, c. 1965 ©JB Blunk Collection

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Blunk’s house set against the Inverness Ridge, 1990 and 2018 Concept Åbäke Photo Daniel Dent ©JB Blunk Collection

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Black Rising Moon, 1970 Acrylic on paper 17 1/2 x 13 1/4 inches 44 .45 x 33.86 cm Photo Daniel Dent ©JB Blunk Collection

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Cover Photo Daniel Dent ©JB Blunk Collection