Collected works by Daniel H. Phillips

September 19–November 15, 2017

The North Bennet Street School in Boston is renowned for its program which brings its students into the rare world of utilizing hundred year old hand tools to create extraordinary pieces which often reflect designs of the eighteenth century. Residing in Dallas, Daniel H. Phillips initially chose to become immersed in the Bennet School program to help him make sculpture. He wanted to “learn all the woodworking tricks.” He grew to find he loved making furniture also. The intimacy the artist feels with his materials is clear as he translates his drawings into furniture and works of sculpture. They offer a rare refinement in the hand tooled surfaces of each piece. The wood simply sings. The corners meticulously dovetail and the joints are clean and pure. There is clarity and a quiet moral consistency.

Phillips uses traditional hand tools because they are the right tools for the task. His detailed drawings are functional, but they also express a conversation with the idea that allows for growth and exchange. They are more than simple construction drawings. And his paintings are unplanned and simply “come out.” The formative lines are carefully brushed with color. Dan Phillips uses the techniques of yesteryear. He draws, paints, drafts with a free hand, and uses chisels, hand planes and saws to transform wood into quite refinement and sometimes into humor.

H.C. Westermann (1922–1981), an important and influential American sculptor, is a particular favorite of Phillips. At times playful and at other times reflecting strong moral feelings, Westermann addressed his materials with respect. He once remarked, “I feel that life is very fragile. We’re all just hanging by a thread; it’s very spooky. I can best come to grips with it by doing my work. I guess that’s why I am an artist.”

In our world layered with options and diversions, the works of Daniel H. Phillips extend a rarified simplicity to all of us.  

Curated by Sally Reynolds

In cooperation with the artist and Webb Gallery, Waxahachie

Photos by Dawn Baxter