Judy Kensley McKie

Judy Kensley McKie gained wide appeal after her work was included in the 1979 New Handmade Furniture exhibition at the American Craft Museum in New York. Her integration of abstracted animal forms with furniture delighted spectators and curators alike. McKie capitalized on her training as a painter to establish a distinct artistic style. Carving became a primary technique for McKie, as it offered her the opportunity to create organic lines and shapes in often rigid materials.

McKie has designed benches for both public and private settings. Shortly after her success from the New Handmade Furniture exhibition, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, commissioned her to create a bench, which she adorned with horse heads and hooves. McKie has also designed benches for public outdoor spaces in her native city of Boston. McKie’s benches are a wonderful example of her ability to bridge the gap between art and furniture. The function of her benches remains clear, yet the interactivity is enhanced with the fanciful qualities of an animal’s form.

The present lot illustrates a regal bird standing with large, enveloping wings curving slightly to form the back of a bench. McKie is a master of minimalism and symmetry—the crisp, white marble highlights the softness of every curve, well mimicked on all sides. As McKie strived for, the bird motif brings life and whimsy to the experience of the bench. It is as if the bird is beckoning for the spectator to sit within its wings.