Responding to contemporary issues of recycling and sustainability, Dutch designer Piet Hein Eek makes stately cabinets out of discarded timber enclosed in well-proportioned clean wood frames. He salvages his materials from scrap yards and abandoned structures, prizing the muted colors and rich textures of objects others have thrown away. Eek chooses his scraps carefully, arranging them within the unpainted frame rather like books on a shelf. Each cabinet tells a unique story of imperfect beauty produced by time and wear. In reaction to the design world’s prevailing aesthetic of perfection, Eek wants to work with materials perceived as having little value. These he transforms into something desirable, revealing an honesty of construction and material without being clumsy. He says, “I wanted to show that products that aren’t perfect still can appeal to our sense of aesthetics and functionality.” Blurring the line between painting and decorative art, the surfaces of Eek’s “Scrapwood” cabinet recall the abstractions of contemporary painting on canvas. At the same time, the cabinet acknowledges the fate of many earlier pieces of painted furniture lost through attrition or stripping. Thus, “2400” Scrapwood Cabinet relates to earlier works in the BMA’s collection while clearly addressing current issues in contemporary art. - David Park Curry, collection rotation 2014