For over 4 decades, Tom Loeser has designed and built unconventional furniture forms that are simultaneously playful and conceptually rigorous. In his work both as a maker and as the head of the wood/furniture department at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Loeser strives to challenge viewers and students to reconsider what furniture can be through investigations into the distinction between functional and formal considerations. Proposed for the Please be Seated collection, Dig 23, is composed of a natural timber slab with reclaimed shovel and tool handles forming the back. This witty work incorporates references to craftsmanship itself (tools and materials), notions of comfort versus utility, and past studio furniture masters such as George Nakashima. It is accessible and entertaining and sure to be a visitor favorite in our galleries.

The MFA owns one work by Loeser, a carved and painted chest (1988.332), and has two additional examples of his work, a folding chair of 1985 and an Earthquake table of 1984, promised as future gift. Dig 23 not only expands our ability to show a range of Loeser's work, but also is the first example that visitors will be able to interact with. The Please Be Seated collection, established by Jonathan Fairbanks in 1975, offers visitors the opportunity to sit in works of art made by contemporary makers within the gallery setting .

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