Bio
A sought after artist and designer, Peter Gutkin continually pursues his fine art/design career. The Whitney Museum of American Art (www.whitney.org), Laforet Museum (Tokyo), San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (www.sfmoma.org), Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago (www.mcachicago.org), the Institute of Contemporary Art in Philadelphia (www.icaphila.org), and many others have exhibited his work.
Gutkin received his Bachelor of Fine Art from Tyler School of Art of Temple University (www.temple.edu/tyler), and received his Master of Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute (sfai.edu). He acquired a wide variety of skills including stone and wood carving, metalsmithing, bronze and plaster casting, low and high fire ceramics, and fine art fundamentals.
In 1990, Gutkin was the sole U.S. representative at the International Furniture Design Fair in Asahikawa, Japan. He won the prestigious ROSCO Award for decorative lighting in 1986, and was a National Endowment for the Arts Fellow (www.nea.gov) in 1980 and 1984. Gutkin has taught at the University of California, Berkeley
(www.berkeley.edu), the San Francisco Art Institute,
(www.sanfranciscoart.edu) and the California College of Art in Oakland (www.cca.edu).
For over twenty years he worked closely with his late wife, interior designer Vicky Doubleday, collaborating on residential and commercial projects such as Scharffenberger Cellars (scharffenbergercellars.com) and NASA Ames Research Center (www.arc.nasa.gov) for which he not only designed interior space but also designed and produced site specific furniture. Since then Gutkin has produced countless pieces of one-off furniture for clients. He has designed lighting fixtures for Boyd lighting (www.boydlighting.com). His art and furniture are included in many public and private collections for enjoyment as well as future investment.
Philosophy
Gutkin's approach to design is expressed through its distilled form, classical proportions and understated elegance. The details are refined, with subtle and restrained nuances. Its timelessness and simple beauty is unaffected by changing fads. Void of clutter and adornament, its elegance is imbued with modesty. Its earthy aura evokes botanical and organic allusions.
Gutkin's roots derive from the Twentieth Century French Modernists along with the American Arts and Crafts movement. Pierre Chareau, Jean-Michel Frank, Constantin Brancusi, Gustav Stickley, and Greene and Greene have most strongly influenced his ouvre and artistic development.
The Work
Rather than being industrially produced, each piece is bench-made by a coterie of highly skilled artisans, and is valued for its individual craftsmanship. Materials are hand selected for quality with no compromise for expense. After assembly, each item is signed, dated, and inspected prior to being shipped from our San Francisco atelier.
The body of work is enjoyed for its aesthetics, functionality, and collect-ability. These are modern antiques for the future.