Never-Before-Seen Work From Bucks County Artist Unveiled At Michener

DOYLESTOWN, PA — Bucks County artist and woodworker Mark Sfirri’s first solo exhibition at the Michener Art Museum displays an all-new springtime series, resulting from a two-year obsession with turned wood flowers. This garden of dynamic botanical creations is on view from December 14, 2024 to May 4, 2025.

The concept for "Mark Sfirri: The Flower Show" emerged when the artist learned that his son’s wedding venue, the Museum for Art in Wood in Philadelphia, did not allow cut flowers at events in order to protect its collection from potential bugs, pests, and pollen. Sfirri decided to make the wedding flowers himself, creating a bouquet for the bride and a boutonniere for the groom. The preoccupation continued for years as he incorporated different exotic woods, painted elements, and produced more elaborate compositions.

Mark Sfirri's "Bouquet" (detail), 2022. Holly and brass, 15 x 6 x 6 inches. (Courtesy of Kim Sfirri)

Sfirri’s flowers dance on twisting brass stems and emerge in lively arrangements from custom-carved and turned bases. The artist is known for continually blurring the line that separates woodturning from sculpture. These floral sculptures convey a whole range of personalities and emotions, with accompanying titles like "The Gossipers," "Sibling Rivalry," and "Des Patates de Divan: (Couch Potatoes).

Selections of Sfirri’s work are already included in the permanent collection at the Michener Art Museum as part of its studio craft holdings. Sfirri’s humorous sculpture, "Rejects from the Bat Factory," is displayed alongside pieces by American studio craft luminaries Wharton Esherick and George Nakashima.

Mark Sfirri's "Neuf Fleurs," 2023. Holly, pink ivory, boxwood, Pau Amarillo, poplar, and paint. 9 ¾ x 8 x 6 inches. (Courtesy of the artist)

“Mark considers objects and shapes that should be straightforward — bats, rolling pins, bottles, and table legs — and reimagines them as playful, strange, and unexpected,” said the Michener Art Museum’s Gerry and Marguerite Lenfest Chief Curator Laura Igoe. “His flowers display the artist’s characteristic sense of humor, whimsy, and experimentation evident in his previous bodies of work.”

Sfirri is professor emeritus at Bucks County Community College where he ran the Fine Woodworking Program from 1981 to 2017. He is the recipient of the Distinguished Educator Award from the Renwick Alliance (2010), the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Collectors of Wood Art (2012), and the Professional Outreach Program’s Merit Award from the American Association of Woodturners (2024).

Sfirri received his BFA and MFA in furniture design at Rhode Island School of Design. His specialty is multi-axis spindle turning, an area that he has been exploring since the early 1990s. He has lectured and demonstrated his techniques throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Norway. His work is included in the permanent collections of twenty-eight public institutions, including the Michener Art Museum.

The exhibition program in the Bette and Nelson Pfundt Gallery at the Michener Art Museum is presented by Vivian Banta and Robert Field.

The Michener Art Museum is located 138 S. Pine Street, Doylestown 18901. Hours are Wednesday to Sunday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The museum is open until 8 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month. Admission is free on the second Sunday. For details and to order tickets, click here.