Featured Artist David Lee Moneypenny

Enjoy artist David Lee Moneypenny’s unusual take on found object design. Visit his website to see more of his fascinating portfolio.

 

Furniture design with reclaimed materials by David Moneypenny. See his artist feature at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Boss, I Hit a Tree” reclaimed Brazilian cherry, reclaimed red birch, assortment of spalted logs, salvaged F150 truck door, 46”x 54”x 23”

 

Decades of art skills and woodworking skills are evident in every piece of my work. As a materials artist, I reclaim materials and use them in unconventional ways. I am drawn to salvaged and found raw materials because they have a history, a prior life, or an event that changed their form. My work is based in minimalism; my goal is to reduce each piece to a simplified form, yet the viewer needs to look past the glossy finish into the layers of the piece.

 

"Boss, I Hit a Tree" (detail) reclaimed Brazilian cherry, reclaimed red birch, assortment of spalted logs, salvaged F150 truck door, 46”x 54”x 23” by artist David Lee Moneypenny. See his portfolio at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Boss, I Hit a Tree” (detail) reclaimed Brazilian cherry, reclaimed red birch, assortment of spalted logs, salvaged F150 truck door, 46”x 54”x 23”

 

I like to explore and invent new uses for old materials. For example, flags can be made out of tree bark and latex caulk, or screening with paint and metal fragments, and become aesthetically beautiful. Bringing these naturally occurring objects into the polished world sets up many issues about our relationship with nature and what we do with raw and discarded materials.

 

“Flag #4” red pine bark, latex caulk, paint on canvas, 60” x 32” by David Moneypenny, featured at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Flag #4” red pine bark, latex caulk, paint on canvas, 60” x 32”

 

Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and the lyrics of Bob Dylan have all influenced my art. I like the sense of humor that is outside of the box, an edgy sarcasm with a little bite. An out of order look, objects not in their proper place, appeals to me. The contrast of materials and textures has always driven my art. Materials that are foreign to each other enhance the properties of one another; neon and sticks, rocks and painted metal, sanded bark and varnish, screening and paint, or bark and caulk.

 

"Birch Bark and Gray" birch bark, latex, caulk, paint on canvas, 48” x 24” by artist David Moneypenny. See his feature at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Birch Bark and Gray” birch bark, latex caulk, paint on canvas, 48” x 24”

 

The nature wall relief series expands on Rauschenberg’s “Combines” but I take it off in a new direction. In this series, I take the actual materials that once made up the landscape, and I build or arrange them into landscapes or still life paintings.

 

“Oasis for Coffee Sipping Intellectuals” high-backed chair, reclaimed chestnut, reclaimed walnut, vinyl seat, salvaged hood, 25” x 35” x 48” by David Lee Moneypenny. See his portfolio at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Oasis for Coffee Sipping Intellectuals” high-backed chair, reclaimed chestnut, reclaimed walnut, vinyl seat, salvaged hood, 25” x 35” x 48”

 

The found pieces of nature are used to address order, chaos, and man’s attempt to control nature. All of these pieces are made from found raw materials such as fallen branches, bark and rotted wood and naturally fractured stones. I highly refine them by manipulating, sculpting, and polishing them to bring out the beauty of their previous lives. This manipulation gives them an entirely new purpose and a new identity.

 

“Oasis for Coffee Sipping Intellectuals Large Table” reclaimed walnut, reclaimed chestnut flooring, truck wheel well, 32.5” x 29.5” x 30” by artist David Lee Moneypenny. See his portfolio at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Oasis for Coffee Sipping Intellectuals Large Table” reclaimed walnut, reclaimed chestnut flooring, truck wheel well, 32.5” x 29.5” x 30”

 

With my newest work, the Crashed Furniture series, I precisely re-purpose crashed automobile parts and reclaimed wood into fine art, functional sculptures. Traditionally art is not meant to be touched, but these unorthodox pieces challenge the viewer to redefine what art is and urge their interaction.

 

“Waiting for the Tow Truck 1” reclaimed walnut, reclaimed Brazilian cherry flooring, salvaged chrome truck bumper, truck exhaust pipes, 70” x 22” x 32” by David Lee Moneypenny. See his portfolio at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Waiting for the Tow Truck 1” reclaimed walnut, reclaimed Brazilian cherry flooring, salvaged chrome truck bumper, truck exhaust pipes, 70” x 22” x 32”

 

Although my intent is art first, furniture second, these pieces are to be touched. The viewer is drawn in to explore not only the materials but how the wood is formed to follow the curve of the crashed metal.  The discarded objects and raw materials find a new life and purpose when combined. Again, I am highly refining raw materials; polishing these abandoned objects in a physical sense; elevating diverse objects to the same level.

 

“Reception Desk” reclaimed birds-eye maple, reclaimed Brazilian cherry flooring, spalted birds-eye maple with maple sap tap hole, salvaged steel hood, 49” x 18” x 44” by artist David Lee Moneypenny. See his portfolio at www.ArtsyShark.com

“Reception Desk” reclaimed birds-eye maple, reclaimed Brazilian cherry flooring, spalted birds-eye maple with maple sap tap hole, salvaged steel hood, 49” x 18” x 44”

 

The overarching issue of the nature pieces and the crashed furniture pieces deal with our relationship with the material world and how we repair the damage we do on a daily basis, and how much effect we have on the earth as the out-of-control dominant species.

 

 

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Comments

  1. Beautiful wood working, interesting art. I can’t imagine how difficult is must be to fit the wood and metal together so perfectly!

    I work in metal and have always been attracted to it, especially old car bodies. So I find these pieces particularly cool.

  2. Intelligent, quirky and wildly appealing! Love your wordy expose…..I’m nodding my head, yes!

  3. unique, superclean, and very clever…..all the best from another steel artist

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