May 2004

George Mahoney: Designer and Artist

by Martina Priadka

The calm and confident voice of George Mahoney is more telling than his modest appearance. From the first moment of our conversation Mahoney speaks fluidly and passionately about his work and recent experiences while obtaining his MFA at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. According to Mahoney, the two year program " led me to places I didn't expect to go" and has culminated in an amazing collection. Having a strong background in design and being a self-described designer, Mahoney found that the interdisciplinary program nurtured the artist in him. "We all critique each other and develop a language. It is part craft and part vocabulary. I could predict what a designer's comments might be but could not predict what might come from a painter, sculptor or filmmaker. That has been really valuable."

If George Mahoney's look can be described as disheveled, his work is certainly the opposite. Elegant lines in simplistic design coupled with texturing and the perfect manipulation of materials create functional pieces of art. In his current show at Soovac starting on May 7th, you can see some of these pieces. "When I design something I like to incorporate multiple materials." An example of this is his poly-carbon framed and cashmere covered chair. "Everyone thought I had steel under there but when you sit on it, the poly carbon just flexes to your body perfectly. The most exciting thing for me right now is bringing all these materials together. I continually struggle with the question, is the piece driving the material or is the material driving the piece? With the rocking chair, I just started playing with the carbon fiber and, wow, it was an amazing piece, simplistic and elegant. By understanding the material I was able to exploit it and get what I wanted. That is just pure play." And Mahoney encourages all to try out his pieces when they are on display and give an opinion. "When someone walks by your work you want them to have an opinion, good or bad. If they walk by and don't notice it at all, that's a crime." Those opinions help drive the creative energy and keep the process in motion. According to Mahoney, it is not all about creating successful pieces. "There is a lot of failure. Failure is important. You just keep working and hope to hit a couple sweet spots."

From his list of successes so far it appears that he has hit several sweet spots. He has won the Best of Fine Arts in MCAD award chosen by curator of the University of Santa Barbara Museum. He is in the show at the Savannah College of Art and Design where Juror, Gary Knoxx Bennet chooses 30 individual art pieces of furniture from 800. The winner's pieces will travel to different museums around the country. He will also be at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in New York in May.

 

And where is he going from there? The options are varied and well thought out. "I was trying to decide if I should focus on being a limited production designer or on creating individual art pieces. I have decided to do both. At this point I fit very comfortably with both of them. But my next project is creating a piece for a design firm called Spunk (www.spunknation.com). Originally they were going to be in a large, open space. I was going to design a modular work area for them but now, yeah, I could make it modular, but where is it going to go because the new space is actually very small." The final piece will become a showcase in Mahoney's portfolio. "It is a table that seats six designers who need to work together but still need to have privacy. I am going to incorporate a pod situation above them that they can pull down when they need their privacy or solitude."

For long-term goals Mahoney is looking forward to teaching. From his experience teaching Introduction to Furniture and Sculpture at MCAD, he found that it is both arduous and rewarding. "It is absolutely exhausting but it also feeds creativity. Regardless of experience or skill level, everyone has something to bring to the table. In teaching, just helping someone with a tiny detail and watching that develop into a final peice is so rewarding."

An artist co-op is also in future plans. Creating an environment of artists in all mediums similar to that in the MFA program is something Mahoney would really like to help create. The constant flow of vocabulary created in that kind of environment is exactly how Mahoney wants to work. But when asked what he really wants to do Mahoney replies, "Ultimately I want to play for a living. But my sweet little duplex, my sweet little dogs and my beautiful wife, that's all I need"

for more information, you can contact George Mahoney directly:

phone: 612 788.4366
e-mail: george_mahoney@earthlink.net

...Now That's Theskini!::permalink


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