Press

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE PRESS RELEASE April 11th, 2016

Century Displays Tom Shield’s, Their Inaugural Artist in Residence, Work at High Point International Furniture Market

High Point, NC–Century Furniture, LLC, a leader in high-end, custom home furnishings, is showcasing one of Tom Shield’s, their inaugural Artist in Residence, works of art in their High Point Showroom this market. Shields is a wood sculpture artist from Penland, NC and worked at Century this winter in a three month Artist-In-Residency in their casegoods factory in Hickory, NC. This program was conceived and founded by Andrea Maricich, Founder of Let’s Get Original.

Shields has shown extensively in galleries and museums throughout the United States. He is a 2015 North Carolina Arts Council grant recipient, a former Penland School of Crafts Resident Artist, and was recently a Windgate Foundation Artist-In-Residence at San Diego State University. He is currently showing in Blue Spiral, a gallery in Asheville, NC.

Shields has been a woodworker for more than fifteen years, making the shift from carpenter to artist when, in 2010 he earned an MFA in Wood from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

“Along the way I became so deeply involved with wood as a substance that it has become the unconscious core of how I express myself visually,” said Shields. “I make “furniture” not because I am a furniture-maker, but because these forms are my reflex vocabulary. This has led me to explore furniture not as an object, but rather, as a subject. I am not trying to re-invent the chair, make it more comfortable or establish a sleek new design for modern living. Instead, I hope to address the role that furniture plays in our lives and tweak that context as a means to investigate social connections.”

“Having Tom’s work on display for all of our market visitors is the culmination of this first collaboration,” said Alex Shuford, CEO of Rock House Farm Family of Brands. “Having him working in our factory alongside our own artisans was a wonderful experience for Century, visually reminding us that what we do is more connected to art than we ourselves sometime realize. By having one of Tom’s pieces here in High Point we hope to make that same connection for our buyers and guests.”

Century Furniture LLC, Post Office Box 608, Hickory, North Carolina 28603 Telephone: 828.328.1851, Fax: 828.328.2176

Shields who is passionate about recycling and reusing used Century’s excess inventory parts to reimage and create a new purpose for the wood and hardware into works of art.

As part of Century’s residency program, Shields spoke to several local schools and community outreach programs. A full showing of the work he created during his residency will be shown at the Hickory Museum of Art this fall.

CENTURY FURNITURE, LLC, based in Hickory, NC, is one of the world’s largest privately owned manufacturers of high-end residential furniture. Founded in 1947 by Harley F. Shuford, Sr., Century is now in the third generation of family ownership and operation and remains committed to their founder’s ideal, to create furniture of such impeccable quality that it brings joy not only to the people who own it, but also to the craftspeople who build it.

Century is recognized in the industry as a design leader, ranked in the forefront for its expertise in finishing and the many details of fine craftsmanship. Its broad line of wood and upholstered furniture consists of bedroom, dining and occasional collections in traditional, transitional and contemporary styling. In addition, Century offers a full line of outdoor collections.

Century is certified as an EFEC company. The corporate office and each of its manufacturing facilities have been EFEC certified since 2010. In addition, Century Furniture was recognized as a Sustainable by Design company in October 2010. Both EFEC and Sustainable by Design are audited and continuous improvement recognitions, which mean the Century team is continually working towards higher and improved environmental standards.

Today Century consists of over 900 associates with a management team conditioned for growth. Continually investing in product design, customer service, technology, and its people, Century Furniture is meeting the challenges of today while planning for the opportunities of the future.

For additional information
please contact Ande Maricich,
founder of Let’s Get Original 702-461-8657 ande@letsgetoriginal.com.
Let’s Get Original promotes select artist makers.

Century Furniture LLC, Post Office Box 608, Hickory, North Carolina 28603 Telephone: 828.328.1851, Fax: 828.328.2176