Brutalist Nature

Southern California-based artist and furniture designer Chuck Moffit creates work that marries time-honored techniques with innovative mechanics. His collections balance brutalist processes while incorporating delicate details. Moffit creates his pieces out of glass, steel, bronze, and leather but is not confined by these materials and is engaged in experimenting with unexpected elements. His work often blurs the lines between art and functional furniture.  

Moffit has collaborated with artists Ingram Ober and Marisol Rendon-Ober on public artworks for MiraCosta Community College’s San Elijo Campus in Cardiff, California, and the Bayside Fire Station No. 2 in San Diego, California. Moffit’s work has been shown at the Hammer Museum, High Desert Test Sites, Eric Buterbaugh Gallery, JF Chen, and Christopher Grimes Gallery, among others. Moffit was an artist-in-residence at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center’s Arts/Industry at Kohler Co.

The rocky terrain surrounding the artist Mt. Baldy's studio is a fitting backdrop for his brutalist-inspired work that constantly evolves as he discovers new equipment, techniques, and scale. His unique creations have attracted serious collectors and esteemed interior designers, including Oliver Furth, Kelly Wearstler,  Nickey Kehoe, and Suzanne Tucker.  

The new armor sideboard represents his creative process of problem-solving, combining machine and well-crafted details.

"Often, my favorite pieces have been started without completed drawings. I enjoy creating fragments and backing myself into a corner where there can only be a couple of solutions to pull a work together. With the Armor sideboard, I made patterns for the bronze doors. Once cast, each weighed 75 pounds. The heaviness necessitated custom-complex hinges made from machined brass. My process allows me to balance finally crafted details against moments of raw cumulative actions," said Moffit.