John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Inspired by pure geometrical forms — circles, rectangles, squares, cylinders and spheres — John Eric Byers’s furniture is deceptively simple. A closer inspection, however, shows that behind each coffee table, bench and chair there is great care and meticulous attention to detail. It is little wonder why the woodworker is considered to be among the foremost figures of the modern American Studio movement.
Born in Rochester, New York, in 1959, Byers trained in the workshop of Wendell Castle, “the father of the art furniture movement.” The renowned American sculptor greatly influenced Byers, and the New York native found inspiration in the work of other artist-designers while in Castle’s workshop such as Donald Judd and British ceramicist Hans Coper.
Following his studies under Castle, Byers established a studio and workshop in Newfield, New York. There, he uses a variety of specialized techniques in the design of his furniture, including wood milling, lamination, hand-shaping, hand-tooling and finishing, often with casein milk paint, which is believed to have been used in ancient Egypt.
Byers’s side tables, stools, sideboards, credenzas and other pieces are sculpted by hand in his preferred material — hard, blackened maple. Each design demonstrates his keen focus on detailed surface texture and structure.
Byers’s works have not gone unnoticed over the course of his decades-long career. He has won multiple awards, such as the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Award and the New York Foundation of the Arts Award. He has been included in the Smithsonian’s Oral Archives of American Arts as well.
Byers’s pieces feature in permanent collections at the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Mint Museum and the Museum of Arts and Design in New York City.
Find vintage John Eric Byers tables, seating, case pieces and storage cabinets.
2010s American Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s American Post-Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s American Post-Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple, Lacquer
2010s American Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s American Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s American Post-Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s American Minimalist John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
2010s North American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Gold
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Travertine
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
21st Century and Contemporary American John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Maple
Mid-20th Century Regency John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Walnut
1980s American Post-Modern Vintage John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Enamel, Steel
1960s American Mid-Century Modern Vintage John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Rosewood
1960s Danish Mid-Century Modern Vintage John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Chrome
2010s Italian John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Steel
2010s American Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
Mid-20th Century American Mid-Century Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Wood
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Indian Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Resin
21st Century and Contemporary Dutch Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Polystyrene, Paint
2010s American Primitive John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Oak
20th Century American Modern John Eric Byers Coffee and Cocktail Tables
Marble