Brent Comber is finally back where it all started.
Then a new carver somewhat unsure of his work, he held his first show at VanDusen Garden on a rainy day 19 years ago.
While presenting his work to passersby he noticed an elderly woman sitting on a bench he designed.
I thought, Oh no shes going to get a sliver and this was my first show, Comber recalls with a laugh in his studio at the base of Second Narrows Bridge.
But her visit turned out to be much more profound.
Running her hand along the bench, she told him the wood he uses brings back fond memories of her late grandfather who once took her on trips to the beach.
It turns out Combers grandfather used to drive street cars full of workers to the shipyards, and the wood used for the bench was salvaged from the area.
I realized Im not the only one who has a powerful connection to this material, he says of the day that solidified his career.
This past summer, Comber showed his work for the second time at VanDusen Garden. Pale Shadows is part of the botanical gardens Touch Wood exhibit on until Sept. 30. He is also showing his Nine Sentinels, a circle of nine-inch maple forms and 60-inch illuminated Shattered Spheres.
Comber says humans can relate to wood in ways they cant with other materials. Feel the warmth. Its different than stone, he says, placing his hand on a sphere of wood in the centre of his studio. We can count the rings and see our own mortality in it. It relates to our own lifespan.
His aesthetic interpretation of the Pacific Northwest and its natural materials can be seen in hotels, restaurants, office buildings and retail stores in Ireland, Japan, New York, Miami, Los Angeles, Seattle and Vancouver, to name a few.
In 2011, he received the BC Creative Achievement Award and his sculpture Serene was purchased by Tokyos Design Association and presented to the prime minister of Japan. He then toured the country to help promote environmental consciousness. He designed Nightswimming for SFUs UniverCity childcare centres one-year anniversary.
He was recently named Western Livings Furniture Designer of the Year and his new dining table series will be featured at IDSWest at the Vancouver Convention Centre Sept. 19 to 22.
To Comber, the forest is experienced differently by each person so he expects everyone to get something different out of his artwork.
I know how the forest makes me feel, its very personal, he says, looking down at a disk made of smaller pieces of wood. I hope people can make their own connections with Pale Shadows and create their own stories from it.
