Biography

Alison McLennan is the owner of AJM furniture based in Alameda, CA. She grew up in Providence, RI and attended Cornell University, where she majored in Entomology. After college she moved to Oakland, CA and rediscovered her lifelong interest in art and her passion for making things. This path led her to the renowned furniture maker, Garry Knox Bennett, who became her mentor, friend, and, at times, her employer. 20 years later, McLennan purchased all of Garry’s equipment and moved it to Alameda. In addition to commissioned work, she has participated in many juried gallery shows. McLennan is drawn to making studio furniture because it fulfills her need for order, as well as her creative need for expression, while benefitting from her attention to detail.

Artist Statement

McLennan is drawn to making studio furniture because it fulfills her analytical need for order, as well as her creative need for expression. The meditative state of craft provides the daily pleasure in the occupation, but the art provides the meaning.

She believes the best art is an idea based upon knowledge and expressed with skill. It should reflect the past and hint at the future. Furniture is an intimate genre; it provides an intersection between design and life. It interacts with us by serving, stowing, cradling—supporting our bodies and our domestic activities in both personal and social ways. McLennan strives to make each piece express the right amount of visual information to make it art. She combines diverse materials and juxtaposes lines and forms in honed proportions to build interesting, and hopefully poignant, compositions. Balancing modern and decorative, McLennan’s work, like her personality, maintains a tension between ordinary and extraordinary.