Michael Coffey has been producing outstanding hand-crafted piece for 30-plus years, and is considered one of the greatest living studio artists today. In the secondary market, his work has seen substantial appreciation, bringing strong prices in venues such as Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Working with Todd Merrill, Mr.Coffey will be producing new designs, as well as reinterpretations of some of his classic works, for sale exclusively through SC. The new designs will debut in fall 2009.
Born and raised in New York City, with a six-year childhood stint in New Hope, Pennsylvania, Mr. Coffey, like so many self-taught artists, thought of woodworking only as a hobby. As a kid he loved wood carving, but he majored in psychology in college, and from 1953 to 1972 he worked as a community organizer helping low-income groups fight for basic needs. This excited the idealist in him but also provided the income to nurture his woodworking. As his frustrations with bureaucracy rose and his hobby flourished, Mr. Coffey bought a house in Staten Island where he worked in his basement from 6:00 a.m. to noon as a woodworker and from noon into the evenings as a community organizer.
Mr. Coffey was influenced by his East Coast contemporaries such as George Nakashima, Wendell Castle, Wharton Esherick, and Walker Reed, and was also aware of West Coast woodworker Sam Maloof. In particular, he was captivated by Jack Rogers Hopkins because, Mr. Coffey stated, “he had no limits.” But while his contemporaries inspired him, he resolved not to copy them and carved new paths using his innate ability to engineer the most structurally solid, uniquely sculptured furniture with flare and wit.
