Artist Statement

As an AfroPeruvian living in the Bay Area of California for almost 30 years, and a self-taught woodworker and artist, I am committed to a world where unity is the antidote to oppression. My creations are a testament to the richness and resilience of difference. I am drawn to the personalities of the wood I work with, and see my work as a metaphor for what our society needs - strength derived from the joining together of different experiences.

Exhibition Statement

In these times when mass production churns out the furniture that fills people’s every day, and design magazines replicate standardized brand names, Roberto’s woodwork is a story. In the joinery technique he has invented, it is the laying of hours, of experimentation, of trial and error, just as the tree lays rings of experience — telling of the tides of good fortune and lean years, of pestilence and challenge, of ease and exuberance. He clamps and cuts and glues the layers; investing the joining with his time and attention — his willingness to risk.

Roberto Gastelumendi’s rule-breaking woodworking technique defies the reactions of his materials — and the doubts of other woodworkers — and joins fibers of different origins and directions into a stronger bond, against all odds. His invention combines a high-contrast mix of grains, North American, South American, and African species, patterns and shapes.

Gastelumendi’s creative pieces speak to origin and resiliency — from a 9-ft sculpture referencing the prehistoric Peruvian Chavin peoples’ stone lances to postured bench legs inspired by the deft angle of a deer’s hock — offer up unique tales that complement his own personal storylines and those of his ancestors. His sensual sculpture, textile-like patterns, and functional art transforms the ordinary act of sitting or placing into moments of inspiration and challenging daily conventions. His pieces are inspired by the angle of insect limbs, a fanciful cluster of hobbit houses, bodies’ curves, ancient stonework, traditional weavings, the lines of classic painters (many fans refer to Klimt’s echo in his work), the lilt of a land or seascape, or dreams.

Roberto Gastelumendi’s philosophy is based on the premise that there is a richness and resilience in difference, and his furniture-making and artistic vision is a testament to this belief. After unexpected flooding in a former workshop, Roberto was enthusiastic - but not completely surprised - to find that his innovative joinery not only withstood the expansion and contraction indicative of wood meeting water, but the pressure and movement seemed to create an even stronger, interlocking bond.

Roberto is constantly innovating and drawn to collaboration and has expanded his creative reach by co-creating with master artisans to produce paddles in Hawaii, sunglasses with laminate made from his joinery in the Basque Country, surfboard fins in southern California, chess boards, and wood-turned accessories.