Refining his woodworking skills as Martin Puryear’s assistant, Kurtz opened his own studio in the Hudson Valley in 2005. Informed by a background in both art and landscape architecture, his signature furniture and sculptural forms have garnered numerous grants and awards.
Yielding to gravity with grace forms the essence of Kurtz’s sculptural creations. This constellation of hand-carved basswood spears stretches in all directions, much like explosive rays of light, the smaller patterns of a spider’s web, or patterns produced by cracked ice. The free-standing wooden sculpture has been painted white, allowing the dual qualities of both purity and elasticity to dance
within the elongated composition. For Kurtz, the act of making sculpture, much like the act of building a structure, is a statement of hubris. Nonetheless, he believes that challenging the limits of gravity is an essential form of protest that re-affirms our existence.