This is Wood (1999)

“… This is Wood by Ryan Legassicke may answer the theme of the Looking Forward exhibition best. Made of two pieces of rough-hewn, cantilevered maple, one of them projecting outward sixteen feet, it is able to support weight, yet seems to defy gravity. It amplifies and celebrates the most important structural element in woodworking, the joint, in this case the lap joint, which occupies a relatively humble position within the hierarchy of cabinetmaking. Such concentration on the act of connecting disparate elements is a wonderful displacement from the traditional emphasis placed on the beauty of the object. The acknowledgement of action over finished form, of creative activity as a verb rather than a noun, mines the traditions and history of craft in an inventive and potent way and suggests a promising direction for contemporary craft work.” – excerpt from The Object Talks Back by Ingrid Bachmann, part of the catalog for the exhibition Looking Forward curated by Paul Greenhaugh, edited by Susan Warner Keene.

This work was commissioned by the Thunder Bay Art Gallery and was built on site over 10 days in the fall of 2002. It is permanently located on the gallery grounds. The project was organized by local potter and gallery board member Alan Moon. The work was made out of local wood (jack pine), is 16′ in length.

Exhibition history:
Piano Works: Imagining the RS Williams Piano Factory, curated by GIl McElroy, Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2003, Oshawa, ON

Looking Forward, curated by Paul Greenhalgh, desinations included The McMaster Museum of Art, Hamilton, ON; Tom Thomson Memorial Art Gallery, Owen Sound, ON; The Frederick Horsman Varley Gallery, Markham, 2001, ON

Constructive Behaviour, Wagner Rosenbalm Gallery, 2000, Toronto, ON

Publication history:
Gil McElroy, “Ryan Legassicke: Wall Disease,” re:sculpt, blog.sculpture.org, June 24, 2015.
Gil McElroy. Piano Works. Oshawa: Robert McLaughlin Gallery, 2003.
Ingrid Bachmann. “The Object Talks Back.” Looking Forward. Ed. Susan Warner Keene, Toronto: OCC, 45-50, 2000.
Stuart Reid. “A Return to the Real.” Looking Forward. Ed. Susan Warner Keene, Toronto: OCC, 21-29, 2000.

Collection: Thunder Bay Art Gallery