Arden Carlson
Artist Site











﹌﹌﹌

Woodworks
&
Drawings


﹌﹌﹌

                                                                                             



















           

Bio: Arden Carlson (b. 1997) is a Kentucky-born maker working primarily in wood and drawing. Their works exist in the nebulous space between sculpture, craft, and furniture.

Arden holds an MFA in Sculpture from the University of Arkansas. Recent 2025 residencies include the Museum for Art In Wood’s Windgate Arts Residency Program and The Wassaic Project.
          











          
                      

         
 
desire field unfolded                        

           Basswood, maple, ash, oak            

           62 L x 10 W x 13 H in.                   

           July 2025                                           

          Photo Credit: John Carlano           


           
















           Left:

           angel’s desk

           Pine, Poplar, Basswood, Maple, Found Wood

           24 L x 11.5 W x 35 H in.

           June 2025

           Photo Credit: John Carlano




          Right:

           tying the ends to the center

           Basswood, Maple, Ash

           16 H x 11 W in.

           July 2025

           Photo Credit: John Carlano
















tree fork chair

 Maple, Ash, Found Wood

18 L x 18 W x 32 H in

July 2025


 Tree fork chair is a variation of the stick chair — a vernacular form of furniture having typically been made by farmers and the like. The backrest is a wishbone carved from a tree fork collected off the banks of the Delaware river.

Project supported by the Museum for Art in Wood and NextFab in Philadelphia, PA.
                                             







can wood carry a soft glow?

                                       
can it be transformed into an object that performs as a hazy-like memory?


how psychological can a plank of wood become?

 














 

꩜



These are some of the questions that have inspired my works.

In an effort to create a deeper, wider universe of objects — I generally attend to one body of work at a time. It’s interesting how surface treatment and form become the unifying language of this body, resulting from the labor and conscious of the current questioning hand.

In my practice, I focus largely on hand tools because of their capability to create a clearly touched surface. To me, this resulting texture is a loud sensation - making a still object feel quite energetic due to excessive human encounter paired with the natural inclination of the material.




꩜












                        glass

                        Basswood

                       17 L x 2 W x 5 H in.             

                       June 2025

                       Photo Credit: John Carlano




         





















           Suitcase

            Pine, Maple

           18 L x 12 W x 7 H in.

            June 2024

           Documention Photo Credit: John Carlano
    
            Portrait Credit: Shannon Smith












               This suitcase is a fully functioning, wooden-hinged box complete with pine paneling and maple hardware. (Splines and wooden hinges) Object created with funding and support from the Eureka Springs School of the Arts in Eureka Springs, Arkansas.











       
                              untitled drawing
    
               poplar, basswood, ply

               18 1/4 H x 25 3/4 W

               July 2025

               Photo Credit: John Carlano





꩜






My affinity for material stems from an isolated Kentucky upbringing, where I roamed the woods and watched my father, from the bottom of the ladder, building one house after another. It was here that I acquired a language for wood: understanding that each object began as the trunk of a tree - and it is the maker’s job to regard such integrity throughout any process of transformation.

Woodworking is a vehicle to explore enchantments with form, transformation, and spirituality.

Drawing from my upbringing in the American South, I’ve often employed domestic or rural motifs as points of departure, reinterpreting them through abstraction to question how labor, identity, and desire are embedded within the built environment.

In recent work, I have shifted from constructing instantly recognizable objects—a radio, a fence line, a bird in flight—toward more ambiguous objects. These new forms have a certain “hard-to-place-ness”, inviting personal contemplation and an exploration of the interior landscape; a shift drawn by the legacy of surrealism and our aptitudes to exist amongst intense political and social structures.











Previous work
2024

2023



Inquiries




Social Media

















































Lore
2024-25
The SLIT, Los Angeles CA


back to home



















Instagram