Artist Bio

Irfan Akbar is a woodworker and a woodturner. He strives to make objects/forms that are simple, true and complete in themselves. All objects are made for everyday use. “I believe that we develop intimate relationships with the things that we use on a daily basis and it is through this intimacy that we discover their beauty.”

All objects (bowls, tea boxes, cutting boards, butter dish, etc.) are designed and made in his small Kensington studio. Over the years, his design preference has shifted towards making things that are at home in a contemporary kitchen.

He obtains wood from many sources: arborists, tree cutters, local wood dumps and discarded trees destined for landfill. Making bowls involves many steps such as harvesting , transporting, chainsawing, band-sawing, rough turning, drying, final turning, and finishing. It takes many months to make one single bowl.

Irfan studies art (painting, sculpture) at California State University East Bay and initially made objects in bronze. Later, he discovered wood technology program at Laney College and studies with a master skilled in Japanese woodworking. He learned turning at Bay Area Woodturner Association. Irfan holds a masters degree in psychology and has a part-time practice as a Marriage and Family therapist in Pleasanton.