Through­out their delib­er­a­tion process, the jurors (Andy Buck, Kathryn Hall and Craig Nutt) reflected on how their selec­tion may ​“strengthen the fabric of the Furni­ture Society commu­nity” overall, consid­er­ing how their selec­tion adds value to the award program by diver­si­fy­ing the present roster of award recip­i­ents while also recog­niz­ing an invalu­able member of the Furni­ture Society. They describe Kristina Madsen as a truly excep­tional furni­ture maker who has made a signif­i­cant impact on the field through her unique way of combin­ing classic Euro­pean cabinet-making tech­niques with tradi­tional Fijian carving to produce furni­ture that truly embod­ies her own style. She first studied under English furni­ture maker David Powell in Mass­a­chu­setts and later in the 1980s, she began incor­po­rat­ing Fijian carving tech­niques that she learned from Fiji carver Makiti Koto, during a Fulbright-spon­sored appren­tice­ship. Over the years, Madsen has demon­strated a remark­able dedi­ca­tion to her craft by forging her own path through her inde­pen­dent prac­tice. Her work can be found in many public and private collec­tions and she has influ­enced other makers. 

Madsen is noted by her nomi­na­tors for her fine crafts­man­ship and ​“metic­u­lous sense of detail.” One of her nomi­na­tors noted that she ​“often devotes half a year or more to a single work, taking great care of every detail of her designs”. In his nomi­na­tion letter, 2019 Award of Distinc­tion Honoree Tom Loeser calls Madsen a ​“national trea­sure”. We could­n’t agree more!

Kristina Madsen was trained in furni­ture making in 1975 – 79 by British master crafts­man, David Powell, at the Leeds Design Work­shop in East­hamp­ton, MA. She was Artist-in-Resi­dence in the School of Art at the Univer­sity of Tasma­nia, Hobart, Tasma­nia in 1988. Her awards include the New England Foun­da­tion for the Arts Regional Fellow­ship for Visual Artists in 1997; a Fulbright Grant to study wood­carv­ing in Fiji in 1991; and a National Endow­ment for the Arts Crafts­man’s Fellow­ship in 1981. Madsen’s work is included in the perma­nent collec­tions of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, Prov­i­dence, RI; Yale Univer­sity Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; Fuller Museum of Art, Brock­ton, MA; Smith College Museum of Art, Northamp­ton, MA; Fine Arts Center, North Carolina State Univer­sity, Raleigh, NC; and the National Museum of Amer­i­can Art, Smith­son­ian Insti­tu­tion, Wash­ing­ton, DC.

We are proud to honor and cele­brate Kristina Madsen this year and invite you to enjoy this conver­sa­tion and virtual tour of her studio and work­space with past Pres­i­dent and TFS member, Bart Niswonger.

This year’s Award of Distinc­tion Trophy was designed and created by Cali­for­nia based wood­worker, sculp­tor, and FS member Fred Rose.

The base and post are made of Mugga/​Red Iron Bark Euca­lyp­tus siderox­y­lon and the arch is made from Bris­bane Box Lophoste­mon confer­tus, both from the campus of Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity at Long Beach, and were milled orig­i­nally on the CSULB Mill. The working Caliper is milled from Plex­i­glas. The name plate is engraved nickel. It has a Table and Chair through tenon and a ring of carving in refer­ence to Kristina Madsen’s work. 12”h x 7”w x 4 1/2”d

Fred Rose grew up along the river in Carmel Valley, CA. He received his BFA in ceram­ics from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Long Beach and his MFA in sculp­ture from Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Fuller­ton. Fred has been making wood sculp­ture for the last 30 years and taught Wood­work­ing at Cali­for­nia State Univer­sity, Long Beach for 7 years. Most of the wood for his work is milled from trees that are being taken down in the urban forests of Long Beach and Costa Mesa, Cali­for­nia. He currently works as a Studio Artist at his home in Costa Mesa, CA. 

Learn More about Fred and his work here

The Furni­ture Society would like to thank Mr. Rose for his time and generos­ity in creat­ing this special award for Kristina Madsen.