Mastering Furniture

Pushing classical design to the edge.Terry Moore, a native of Wales, settled in the Newport area around 1980. Without any official training, he began making fine furniture after gaining a reputation making kitchen cabinets. With several years experience, and work he was proud to show, Moore “plucked” up the courage to apply to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen.”It was like standing naked in front of a crowd,” he explains of the jurying process. “I had been working by myself. Now, here, three people were critiquing my work. I left a bit wounded, but in the end, they gave me good direction to improve my work.”Improved, yes. Moore has one of his pieces in the permanent collection of The Currier Museum of Art and consistently wins awards for Best in Wood and Best in Show at the League’s Sunapee Fair.Moore enjoys using classical proportions and styles, but is inspired by the modern world to add his own contemporary twists. Shown here is the third piece inspired by the harlequin patterns found in a series of paintings by Pablo Picasso.The diamonds are overlaid on a surface that is bowed in two directions, making the cutting of the pieces a mathematical challenge. The closer you get to the piece, the more it draws you in.A console table Moore recently completed was inspired by the structural demands of iron bridgework. As he says, “A bridge is just a table for cars to cross.”Moore’s Harlequin piece shown here is part of the New Hampshire Furniture Masters Auction on September 20 at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. A preview of the auction runs until September 16 at the N.H. Historical Society in Concord.