Gust Gallery - Fine Arts

Born and raised in Calgary, Doug Zech is an artist and woodworker with a background in printmaking and sculpture. He holds a Diploma of Fine Art (with distinction) from the Alberta College of Art (now AUArts) and a Master of Fine Art degree from NSCAD (now NSCAD University).

A self-taught woodworker and furniture maker he has exhibited his woodwork locally, nationally and internationally for over twenty-five years. During that time, he was honoured to be chosen for an exhibition of chairs curated by world renowned chair-maker, Sam Maloof in Worchester, Mass.

He has been an instructor in printmaking at AUArts teaching both full time day classes and for many years taught with their continuing education program as well. One of his most rewarding teaching experiences was a Selkirk College in Nelson, BC where he taught the Fine Woodworking Program. This program focuses on traditional fine furniture making and design and culminates each year in an exhibition of the student's work.

Driven by an insatiable curiosity and desire to continually expand and increase his skill his woodwork has run the gamut from fine furniture and custom cabinetry to musical instruments. Always with a desire to create beautifully made and useful objects.

Artist Philosophy

My overriding philosophy toward my work is to create a challenge for myself with each piece that I make. I constantly strive to learn and experiment, to push the boundaries of what my skills will allow me to do. In the process a development and expansion of my knowledge and a honing of my skills occurs. I feel that by challenging the limits of what I can do I create a freshness and vitality in my work. This would otherwise be lost if I chose to restrict myself to what I've done or know how to do.

My current bodies of work are turned wooden objects that are an exploration in contrast. They explore my fascination with contrasting elements. Whether that be light and dark, organic and mechanical or smooth and rough. The pieces I am working on embrace the concept of smooth and rough, finished and unfinished, refined and course, practical or impractical. In one body the forms are simple. Plates, platters, bowls and lidded vessels. Objects that are familiar and practical. Yet, made less so using painted faux finish surfaces, by the addition of disparate materials and surface texture. Contrasting these with highly finished and refined wood surfaces I am creating a visual dichotomy that is both sensual and abrasive.

The other body of work is comprised of simple utilitarian items found in most kitchens, stirring implements, spatulas, rolling pins, etc. These are raised to a higher level using beautifully figured wood, thoughtful design and detailing that embraces the concept of contrast expressed in my larger turned work.

As an artist that turns what was once a living organism into objects that are beautiful to use and admire, I believe it is incumbent upon me to do this in a responsible way. The majority of my work is made from wood that is destined for the land fill, scrap pile or fire pit. I have partnered with my current employer as well as select businesses to raid their scrap bins and use that wood to create my work. I also work with an arborist to use the wood that is produced from the pruning and removal of trees from our urban forest. Absolutely everything I make is created as a unique object. I do not use mass production methods or duplicating devices. Using a wood lathe as the main tool I shape each piece by eye, this leads to a slight variation in each piece creating a uniqueness. Much like the wood that I use, no two pieces are identical, similar, yes, but each has its own personality.

I begin with woods that are suitable for safe food use. Closed grain woods like maple, birch, cherry and apple are used. The closed grain of these woods prevents any possibility of contamination by food left in the wood. In fact, a University of Wisconsin study showed that 99.9% of bacteria on left on wooden cutting boards died off within three minutes.

The details in contrasting woods I use are purely decorative and serve to add visual interest to the tool. Much the same goes for the selection of figured woods that display a characteristic called chatoyance. Chatoyance is the wood's inherent ability to reflect light that in extreme circumstances makes the wood appear to move with the light. All contrasting details are added to the tool using traditional joinery methods whether that is a simple dowel, a tongue and groove, a mortise and tenon or a dovetail joint, they are all attached using a mechanical method, not simply glued in place. I also use waterproof glues such as Tightbond III or a marine grade epoxy to ensure the joint is secure and can stand up to repeated washings.
— Doug Zech, February 2021