BALTIMORE COUNTY, Md. — David Knopp elevates the humble medium of plywood into beautiful functional sculpture, evoking the motion found in nature. The self-taught artist recently gave an inside look at his unique process that has garnered national attention.
"Wood? I love it. I love the saw dust flying, I love carving with the power tools," Knopp said.
The functional sculptor started working with wood long ago, drawn to its versatility and potential for creative expression.
Hear from Knopp as he takes us into what prompted him to begin his journey into making these sculptures
"It's a pretty good material to work with 'cause there's so many ways you can make it do what you want," Knopp said.
For him, it was a natural step out of the cabinets and household items he'd make around the house.
"Basically building boxes and it got kind of boring...that isn't how I made my living but it was kind of my side thing," Knopp said.
That side hustle took a turn when he found a book about modern furniture making. Flipping through it he decided to give it a try.
"I got turned on to the idea of functional sculpture. Never took a sculpture course, so everything I learned is self trained," Knopp said.
Picking up tools here and there, he developed a truly unique art form. That uniqueness comes from the very nature of his preferred medium.
"I got the idea of working with plywood. It's pretty accessible. Pretty cheap. A good thing to experiment with," Knopp said.
Starting with a basic sketch, he cuts a spine establishing the basic shape. Then he painstakingly adds layers outward, finding the fluid lines he's looking for in the finished piece.
"A lot of sanding, a lot of time involved," Knopp said.
He says early on he was influenced by what he saw in nature.
"Sometimes it could be something as simple as a certain tree growing a certain way, or a piece of driftwood I found. And I loved the way it had movement and contours of it," Knopp said.
Eventually he began balancing the form of nature with the function of objects like lamps and tables.
In 2012, Knopp received a local artists award that led to big things and proved the level of uniqueness he had achieved.
"I want to tell you, you just won $25,000 and a show at the Baltimore Museum of Art. And I'm like 'no way'. And at that point, you know, as we were talking she says, 'I think you're like an outsider.' And I said alright, I'll take that!" Knopp said.
Now, after an Instagram video posted to promote a talk he gave at Manor Mill in Monkton, his work has gone viral. Knopp says he's not really looking to be an influencer.
"I think sometimes that's an attraction to people when they see me, especially on social media, they probably say, look at this guy, he's an older guy, and self trained, and look at what he can do, you know, I think people get inspired. So that's good," Knopp said.
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