Chair Share: Agatha Vastakis Pestilli

Our Centerbrook Chairshop retrospective continues with Agatha Vastakis Pestilli and her practical yet elegant black walnut stool. Its delicate tapered legs, fastened together with mortise and tenon joints, ascend to the chair’s centerpieces: a seat and back curved not with steam or chisel but with kerf cuts made on a table saw. Agatha experimented with different types of wood and various thicknesses before finding a combination that was flexible and strong. After she clamped the kerfed parts into a mold, she poured epoxy into the parallel cuts. Once cured, the cuts secured the curves and created the light-colored striations that contrast with the coffee-toned wood. A hand-rubbed oil finish brought out its full richness and beauty.