Artist's Biography

Since 1985 when Christopher Poehlmann first fell in love with Design while studying fine art photography in Europe, he has been singularly focused on creating artful objects for everyday use. Typically working at the intersection of Craft and Design, Poehlmann describes his focus as inhabiting the “grey area between art and craft, sculpture and design, form and function.”

Poehlmann is self trained, beginning his career with his first solo gallery show in 1990 with a body of work made from coper pipe and fittings. His work morphed over time to include found and repurposed materials and later into welding and other fabrication processes. A natural welder, Poehlmann states that is seems to be in his DNA. Whatever the process and material that interests and engages this artist, he studies it and either masters it or finds expert outsourcing to aid in executing his vision.

This drive to pursue unique and personal designs has led Poehlmann to be a trend leader. The Art vs Design continuum might be in flux, but this artist/designer has always considered building objects of use that are imbued with sculptural intent his top priority. The maker’s hand plays a strong part in much of his work. Take the newGROWTH series for instance, tree branch inspired welded aluminum light fixtures. Each object is unique, hand formed sculptures designed and fabricated by Poehlmann with the needs and desires of each client considered as a collaborative element of the work. However, Poehlmann does not shy away from technology perceiving tools such as CNC cutters as current tools of the trade and 3d printing as a new level of Craft when employed properly.

Over the past 30 years, Christopher Poehlmann has worked tirelessly across the boundaries of Art and Design. Always interested in the disciplines of Studio Craft and Industrial Design, he has staged 16 solo gallery exhibitions, been part of numerous group exhibitions throughout the country in private galleries, scholastic galleries and museums, and has had his work published in sourcebooks, magazines, newspapers and blogs worldwide. This recognition has led him to curate shows since 2003 at a variety of museums, galleries and trade shows as well as writing essays about design for show catalogs, magazines and blogs. 2017 marked his 25th consecutive year as an exhibitor at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair in NYC where he made his mark on the design world as a trend leader in the use of recycled materials as well as being a very early proponent of what we now think of as Organic Design.

Poehlmann”s work resides in the collections of The Chipstone Foundation, Vladimir Kagan, Dona Shalala, Alex van Halen, Amanda Seyfried, Corddry Family Collection, Springborne Collection, NYC Parks Department, Rehab Centers of America, Foley + Lardner Law offices, Liz Claiborne Corp, The Venetian Casino, The Lido, Weedman/Greene Collection, Sean Combs, Mamaroneck Public Library, E! Network,Collection Thierry Barbier-Mueller numerous private collections as well as stores, restaurants and clubs across the US and abroad. He served as a Trustee for The Furniture Society from 204-2010, serving as Chair of Exhibitions. His photography work can occasionally be seen on billboards across the US as public art installations. He lives and works with his wife, two children, and two rather aloof cats in Philadelphia, PA.

Education

1986
Wittenberg University, Springfield, OH
Bachelor of Science in Psychology

1985
Salzburg College, Salzburg, Austria
Documentary and Fine Art Photography and Art History Studies

Awards & Honors

2015
Steering Committee and Exhibit Chair for Furniture Society 2016 conference, Philadelphia, PA

2004 - 2010
Board of Trustees, The Furniture Society

Chair of Exhibitions, The Furniture Society

2003
Arts Professional on Florida Gulf Coast University’s Percent for Art committee

2002
Honorable Mention, 43rd Founders Awards, von Liebig Art Center, Naples, FL

1999
HGTV Modern Masters television feature

Best of ICFF Award, Design Journal, Residential Lighting Magazine “Top 100”,

ADEX Silver Award for residential seating

1996
Honorable Mention, International Design Resource Awards, sustainable materials

Merit Award, Barrier Island Group for the Arts, Sanibel, FL

1995
Merit Award, Goldstein Gallery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN

1994
Award of Excellence, Society of American Silversmiths, St. Paul, MN

1992
First Peer Award, Fiber/Metal Exposition, State of Minnesota Governor’s Office

1990
Best of Show, Woodstock Art Fair, Woodstock, IL

Bibliography

Work Featured
2022
"A Chair and You", Collection Thierry Barbier-Mueller, MUDAC

2008
"500 Chairs", Lark Books

"500 Tables", Lark Books

Sharkey, Lisa, "Dreaming Green", Clarkson Potter

2004
Glasgow, Andrew, "Studio Furniture: Expression + Function", Emory + Henry

2003
Bueno, Patricia, "Chairs", Harper Design International, NYC

Bueno, Patricia, "Sillas, Sillas, Sillas", Books Factory, Barcelona Spain

2001
"Chair Show 4", Southern Highland Craft Guild, catalog

2000
Lighting 2000 – Shiffer Books

List of Publications
The New York Times, Modern Magazine, Esthetic Lens, Metropolis, Interior Design, Metropolitan Home, House + Garden, Architectural Record, Home, Gulfshore Life, Southern Living, Fine Furnishings International, Miami, Naples Illustrated, House Beautiful, Canadian Interiors, South Coast Style, Florida Design, Residential Lighting, Home Lighting, Contract Lighting, Casa Deco, Mobel Raum, Time Out NY, Chicago Tribune, WI Trails, Milwaukee Journal, Milwaukee Magazine, New York Newsday, Naples Daily News, Asian Furniture News, Design Times, Country Living, Architect, Oregon Home, Art Muscle, Architectural Lighting, Brava, ICFF Directory, Interiors, Licht Wohnen, VM+SD, Coffee Journal, Women’s Day, Design Times, Brides, Fine Furnishings International, N Magazine, St. Petersburg Times, Echoes, InStyle, Osterreiche Wohnen, Phoenix Home + Garden Organic Style, Bonytt, Outpost Exchange, Milwaukee Home

Authored Work

2018
"Mercanteinfiera: An Italian Love Affair", Esthetic Lens Magazine

"You Cant Fall Apart if You were Never Together in the 1st Place", Esthetic Lens

2017
"Contemporary Wood Lighting: A Survey", Esthetic Lens

2016
"Scavenger Hunt”, Modern Magazine
Essay

2008
"Multiplicity", The Furniture Society/Neuberger Museum
Essay for show catalog co-pub.

2006
"Show Us Your Drawers", The Furniture Society
Essay for show catalog

Professional Experience

1996 - Present
Principle of Christopher Poehlmann Studio, Inc, DBA CP Lighting

1986 - Present
Designer, Maker, Curator, Writer, Photographer, occasional teacher

Selected Exhibitions

Solo
2002
2D/3D, Atelier Lizio, Naples, FL

Art House Foundation, Ft. Myers , FL

2001
Making Time: Sculptural Clockworks, FL Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, FL

New Lighting Design, Eclectic Electric Gallery, Atlanta, GA

Rustic Furniture, Art, Artifact + Antiquity, Aspen, CO

2000
Artist Studio, Philharmonic Center for the Arts, Naples, FL

1999
Art, Artifact, Antiquity Collections, Naples, FL

1997
Lee County Alliance for the Arts, Ft. Myers, FL

Art House, Fort Myers, FL

1996
Relics of a Post Industrial Cartoon Age, Newago County Center for the Arts, Freemont, MI

1995
Relics of a Post Industrial Cartoon Age, Whimsy Gallery, Chicago, IL

Tea Lights and Other Illuminations, Out of the Ordinary, St. Louis Park, MN

1992
Silver Paper Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

1991
Wright Street Gallery, Milwaukee, WI

1990
Geometrie, Minneapolis, MN

Elements of Art + Design, Milwaukee, WI

Group
2022
A Chair + You, Museum of Contemporary Design + Applied Arts, Lausanne, France

2021
New Work by Faculty, Messler Gallery, Rockport, ME

2021
Sculpture in the Glen III, InLiquid, Gladwyne, PA

2017
Contemporary Wood Lamps, Center for Craftsmanship in Furniture, Rockport, ME

2016
Craft-facturing: Objects and Their Stories, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2012
Billboard Art Project, New Orleans, LA

2011
Billboard Art Project, Reading, PA and Santa Clara, CA

2010
Robot Invasion, Gallery i/o, New Orleans, LA

New Photography by C. Poehlmann + D. Lawton, Nut Factory, Milwaukee, WI

2009
Green Furniture, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI

2006
Designed for Multiples, The Furniture Society, ICFF, New York, NY

2005
Can You Sit On It?, Brook Stevens Gallery, MIAD, Milwaukee, WI
Co-curator

2004
Studio Furniture: Expression + Function,1912 Gallery, Emory + Henry College, Emory, VA

2003
Chair Show 4, High Point Museum, High Point, NC

Multiples, The Furniture Society, ICFF, New York, NY

Art House: The Retrospective, FL Gulf Coast University, Ft. Myers, FL

Art Around Town, Public sculpture for the city of Punta Gorda , FL

Exposures: i2art Invitational, Naples, FL

2002
Voltwerks, Edison Gallery of Fine Art, Ft. Myers, FL

Members Gallery, Furniture Society Conference, Madison, WI

Furnishings, Function+ Art, Chicago, IL

43rd Founders Annual Juried Awards Exhibition, von Liebig Art Center, Naples, FL

Seating, Meredith Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Chair Show 4, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausaw, WI; traveled to:
Wellington B. Gray Gallery, Eastern Carolina University, Greenville, NC

2001
Chair Show 4, Folk Art Center, Asheville, NC to travel thru 2003

Cultural Reflections: Selections from the Green/Weedman Collection, Naples Art Museum, Naples, FL

Made in America, Meredith Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Illuminations, Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts, Loveladies, NJ

Sconce Show, Eclectic Electric Gallery, Atlanta, GA

2000
49th Annual FL Juried Exhibition, Boca Raton Museum of Art, Boca Raton, FL

Architecture Works, Thomas Mann Gallery, New Orleans, LA

C.O.U.C.H., Artspace, Raleigh, NC

Voltwerks Invitational, Florida Arts Council, Ft. Myers, FL

Best of Show Show, Woodstock Art Center, Woodstock, IL

Curated & Organized
2017
Contemporary Wood Lamps, Center for Craftsmanship in Furniture, Rockport, ME

2016
Craft-facturing: Objects and Their Stories, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA

2008
Multiplicity, Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, NY

2006
Show Us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art + Design, Indianapolis, IN

2005
Can You Sit On It?, Brook Stevens Gallery, MIAD, Milwaukee, WI
Co-curator

2004 - 2010

Furniture Society booth at the International Contemporary Furniture Fair (ICFF), New York, NY