Aaron Getman-Pickering is at The Beck
We are happy to welcome Aaron Getman-Pickering's work to The Beck this season. Born in Rhinebeck and raised in New Paltz, Aaron is a Hudson Valley artist and designer who creates sculptural lighting and wood furniture. When I first came across Aaron's work, what stayed with me was how familiar and new it felt at the same time. Aaron, a woodworker and designer, has collaborated with a wide circle of makers and artists. His projects range from building houses and furniture to fine art and monumental public sculptures.
What I love most is where his ideas come from. He's endlessly curious about objects people have made across cultures and centuries: oceanic shields, Danish briar pipes, humble vernacular chairs, water towers, African headrests, Scandinavian stave churches, even the wooden hat blocks used by milliners. He absorbs the logic behind these things and carries it into his own pieces.
FRIEZE TABLE LAMP
PATTERNMAKERS LAMP
The lamps in our showroom are a perfect example of Aaron’s cross-culture techniques. He makes them using cold-molding, a boatbuilding method he learned while working for the sculptor Martin Puryear. Thin strips of wood are layered over a plywood form, then glued and stapled in place, often with thousands of staples. The result is the same as on a racing yacht: a shape that is light, strong and graceful. He pairs that technique with forms inspired by kurimono, the Japanese tradition of hollowed-out woodwork.
HEADREST STOOL
SHAKER TABLE
Whether a piece is small enough to sit beside a chair or large enough to anchor a public space, Aaron’s goal is the same: to make objects that feel rooted in tradition yet fresh. To me, that balance is what makes them so easy to live with, and so easy to design around.
Aaron Getman-Pickering
These works mark a new period of material exploration in Aaron Getman- Pickering's practice, incorporating materials he has collected and admired but had not previously used. Guided by curiosity and sustained engagement with craft, the studio has become a place of discovery, analysis, and play.