An artist, sculptor, and furniture designer, Michael Beitz has undertaken art residencies at ART BNB in Jerusalem and the Konvent 0 Residency in Barcelona, Spain. Among Michael Beitz’s innovative contemporary art installations are Gather, an elongated metal picnic table, and Blue Line, a bentwood picnic table with numerous wood planks formed into twists and turns.
Both Gather and Blue Line infuse practical domestic furniture items such as picnic tables with more abstract elements of contemporary art. Utilizing 100 linear feet of wood, Blue Line creates an interactive site where passersby can stop and spend time. According to the artist, the piece aims to inspire a reexamination of the viewer’s relationship with furniture.
Gather takes another twist on a traditional picnic table. The metal table begins on the roof and spills over the side of the building to gather on the sidewalk below. Again, the piece invites viewers to sit and interact with the sculpture, experiencing an ordinary object such as a table uniquely.
