More about Alison McLennan

Alison McLennan​
Alison McLennan sidestepped her Cornell education in Entomology making an expedition to California to meet Garry Knox Bennett and so beginning a profoundly productive relationship built around fine craft and furniture making. McLennan leans heavily into the arena of fine craft furniture with an exhibition history that includes  shows  from Massachusetts to New York, Indianapolis, Colorado and California.  

Keen attention to detail and a refined sense for intermixing woods are evident in the works on view at Transmission Gallery, including "Coffee Table" pictured here which includes five kinds of wood and gold plated brass detail.  

Above: Alison McLennan, "Coffee Table", 18" x 43" x 21",
​Walnut, Maple, Lacewood, Ebony, Matte Gold-plated Brass, Steam Bent Cherry, paint

Alison McLennan

Exhibitions

• SpacePop, Berkeley, CA.  September -  2014
• New West Coast Design 2, Museum of Craft + Design, San Francisco, CA.  October 2013 - January 2014
• Craft + Design, Fifth Floor Gallery, Los Angeles, CA. June 2013
• Splendid Objects, Falkirk Cultural Center, San Rafael, CA.  June 2013
• Your Personal Hang-ups, Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA.  November 2012 - February 2013
• 16th Annual Lines Into Shapes, Art Center of Estes Park, Estes Park, CO.  October 2012
• Wood, Velvet Da Vinci Gallery, San Francisco, CA.   May 2012
• Furniture Divas, Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA.  Feb.-Oct. 2011
• Gifted Hands: The Fine Art of Craft, Hearst Art Gallery, St. Mary’s College, Moraga, CA.     Oct.-Dec. 2010
• The Teapot Re-defined, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA.  Oct. 2010
• Innovations in Contemporary Craft, Richmond Art Center, Richmond, CA.  Jun. 2010
• The Pierschalla Memorial Scholarship Furniture Exhibition, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA.   Jun. 2010
• Form + Function, Garry Knox Bennett and Alison J. McLennan, The Atrium at 600 Townsend, San Francisco, CA.  Feb. 2010
• The Art of the Teapot, Mobilia Gallery, Cambridge, MA.   Nov. 2009
• One of a Kind furniture by Alison J. McLennan, Artworks Downtown, San Rafael, CA.  Aug. 2009
• NAGA Gallery, Boston, MA.  Oct. 2008
• Jingletown Junction, ProArts Gallery, Oakland, CA.  March 2008
• New West Coast Design: Contemporary Objects, Museum of Craft + Design, San Francisco, CA. 2008
• Stewart Kummer Gallery, Gualala, CA. 2007-present
• Masters and Apprentices of Baulines Craft Guild, Craft & Cultural Arts Gallery, Oakland, CA. 2006
• Show Us Your Drawers, The Herron Gallery, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN.  2006
• Virginia Breier Gallery, San Francisco, CA.   2002-2005
• Craft Showcase 5, Museum of craft & folk art, San Francisco, CA.    2004
• California Design 2004, San Francisco, CA.   2004
• Pritam & Eames Gallery, East Hampton, NY.  2003
• Tercera Gallery, Palo Alto, CA.   2003
• Craft Showcase 3, Museum of craft & folk art, San Francisco, CA.  2002

Experience

• Studio Furniture maker, Oakland, CA 2001-Present
• Museum preparator, Museum of Craft & Design, San Francisco, CA.  2009-Present
• Mentor to high school students, through the Baulines Craft Guild.    2010-2011
• Studio Photography, Oakland, CA. 1999-Present
• Berkeley Mills, Berkeley, CA: Apprentice in Furniture making.       2001
• Photographer's Assistant, Santa Cruz, CA Employer: Dottie Jakobsen, Jakobsen Photo Arts.

Education

• ​1999 Cornell University, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Ithaca, NY. B.S. degree in Entomology

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