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Jim Rose Furniture

American, 1966-2023

Bringing lively newness to weathered and worn found materials, artist and furniture designer Jim Rose mined scrap heaps and junkyards for the metal he used in his furniture, collages and decorative objects. He kept his eyes open for the ideal scraps of aged steel that could be bent and shaped into a base, frame or surface of his next piece, hand-picking off-colored bits to serve as inlays and accents. 

Rose was long associated with the American Studio Craft movement, and many of his one-of-a-kind works can typically be characterized as a venturesome fusion of folk art and modernist design. Each piece, crafted by hand and with fastidious care in his Wisconsin studio, is representative of his work ethic and boundless imagination.

Born in Indiana, Rose studied briefly at Bard College in New York City and earned his BFA in sculpture from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988. A couple of years earlier, he established his design studio, along with his wife Suzanne — an award-winning photographer — as his partner. During the 1990s, Rose and Suzanne traveled the American Northeast, where he became enamored with Shaker furniture

When Rose returned home, he read every piece of literature he could about the history of the Shakers. The name derives from the popular moniker for an all-but-vanished American religious sect, whose members crafted honest, modest household furniture and objects as part of their belief in purposeful living and simplicity in all things. Rose incorporated Shaker methods into the production of his own designs. Rather than utilize the unpretentious hardwoods that the Shakers preferred, however, Rose worked with discarded materials, fashioning tables, case pieces and decorative objects from repurposed steel and other metals.

In the late 1990s, Rose began to include multi-colored metal into his works — adapting methods used by colonial quiltmakers. His furnishings began to take on a mosaic look, bringing a substantial amount of visual appeal and new charm to each of his distinctive creations. Rose also produced a body of work that drew on Ming dynasty designs.

With numerous showings at Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Fair in New York City and Chicago, Rose made a name for himself throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s. He had solo and group exhibitions throughout his career, including in Palm Beach, Florida, and Mesa, Arizona — as well as at many other galleries in New York and Chicago. Rose’s work is held in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Racine Art Museum and other institutions.

On 1stDibs, find a collection of vintage Jim Rose storage cabinets, tables, and decorative objects.

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Creator: Jim Rose
Cupboard, 4 Doors, 2 Drawer Shaker Style in Steel with Natural Rusted Patina
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Four Door, Two Drawer Cupboard (1998) stands as an early and fully resolved statement of Jim Rose’s legacy, articulating the principles that would define his work for decades. T...
Category

1990s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose - Original Tall One Door "Fans" Quilt Cupboard, Monochromatic Pattern
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This One Door Fans Quilt Cupboard occupies a particularly refined place within Jim Rose’s legacy, demonstrating how his engagement with the Gee’s Bend quilt tradition extended beyond...
Category

2010s American Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Armoire, Shaker Style in Steel with Natural Rusted Patina by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Armoire exemplifies Jim Rose’s legacy through its quiet authority, material integrity, and unwavering commitment to use. Rooted in the historical form of the single-door armoire...
Category

1990s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Shaker Tripod Table, Shaker Style in Painted Steel by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Tripod Stand (with pie crust edge & turned pedestal) reveals Jim Rose’s legacy at its most distilled and sculptural, where historical reference, material transformation, and qui...
Category

Early 2000s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

House Sculpture, Minimalist Modern Structure, Rusted Steel Wedge on Wood Blocks
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, found steel objects are welded together to ...
Category

2010s American Minimalist Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Shaker Tall Cabinet With Door and Drawers, Steel Cupboard by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This tall cabinet exemplifies Jim Rose’s legacy at its most distilled and disciplined—an object where verticality, restraint, and material intelligence converge into a quietly commanding presence. The form recalls early American and Shaker cupboards, particularly storage pieces meant to stand apart and serve specific, practical purposes, yet Rose’s execution in steel transforms that lineage into something resolutely contemporary. The cabinet’s slender proportions and emphatic vertical lines highlight Rose’s sculptural training, giving the piece a bodily, almost architectural stance. The stepped cornice and subtly flared top introduce a sense of ceremony without ornament, while the paneled door and drawers below establish a rhythm of framed surfaces that echo traditional joinery, translated here into metal. As in much of Rose’s work, the steel is finished to suggest age and warmth, dissolving the boundary between industrial material and domestic familiarity. Functionally precise yet emotionally resonant, the piece reflects Rose’s belief that furniture should feel purpose-built and enduring. The single-door cabinet and drawers below offer a clear hierarchy of use, reinforcing his preference for clarity over excess. Nothing is superfluous; every decision supports balance, usability, and longevity. Within Rose’s broader body of work, this cabinet stands as a meditation on scale and solitude—a piece that does not dominate a room through size, but through presence. It underscores his enduring contribution to contemporary furniture: proving that steel, when handled with patience and respect for tradition, can carry the same sense of history, dignity, and quiet service as the finest wooden furniture. Jim Rose Legacy Collection Tall Cabinet, 2003 found steel with natural rust patina 80h x 23w x 16d in 203.20h x 58.42w x 40.64d cm Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi 2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY 2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN 2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI 2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI 2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI 2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY 2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI 2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition) 2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Marriage of the Minds, Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art, Sturgeon Bay, WI 2006 27th Annual Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2006 Containers of All Dimensions, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2005 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2004 Right at Home: American Studio Furniture, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 2004 American Collections, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2004 More Than Drawers-Wisconsin Cabinets, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2004 Objects of Wonder, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI 2003 Planting, Potting and Pruning, Wustum Museum of Fine Art, Racine, WI 2003 Men at Work, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI 2002 Case Pieces: Contemporary Studio Furniture, Elvehjem Museum of Art, Univ of WI-Madison 2002 Sitting Pretty: Contemporary Wisconsin Chairs...
Category

Early 2000s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose Ming Steel Offering Table
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Created exclusively for PAGODA RED, the Ming Steel Collection by artist Jim Rose forges a connection between Shaker minimalism and the simplified lines and austere aesthetic of Ming-...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary American Industrial Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose Two-Door Housetop Weave Multi-Color Steel Quilt Pattern Cupboard
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Two Door Strip Quilt Cupboard (2022) stands as a late and deeply resolved expression of Jim Rose’s legacy, bringing together his lifelong commitments to material honesty, historical continuity, and disciplined composition. The cabinet’s surface draws directly from the strip quilt tradition of Gee’s Bend, whose improvisational bands, shifting rhythms, and intuitive balance offered Rose a powerful model for structuring variation within order. As with all of Rose’s quilt cabinets, the color here is not applied but inherited. Every panel is made from found, pre-painted steel salvaged from signage, industrial machinery, and utilitarian infrastructure, and all colors remain exactly as discovered. Rose did not paint these surfaces; instead, he selected, cut, and arranged them, allowing each fragment’s prior life—scratches, holes, typography, and wear—to remain legible. This method aligns Rose’s practice ethically and materially with the Gee’s Bend tradition, where reuse and transformation are acts of respect rather than aesthetic affectation. The cabinet’s dark steel framework acts as a stabilizing armature, its rectilinear grid holding the animated color fields in quiet tension. The familiar two-door cupboard form grounds the work in domestic function, ensuring that visual complexity never eclipses use. Verticality and symmetry lend the piece a calm authority, while subtle asymmetries within the panels keep the surface alive and responsive. Created near the end of Rose’s career, this cupboard reads as both culmination and affirmation. It encapsulates his enduring contribution to contemporary furniture: demonstrating that objects can carry cultural memory through material itself, that restraint can coexist with richness, and that furniture—made with patience, respect, and clarity—can function simultaneously as utility, composition, and quiet witness to lived histories. Jim Rose Two Door Strip Quilt Cupboard, 2022 hot roll and found painted steel 48h x 39w x 18.50d in 121.92h x 99.06w x 46.99d cm JR0241 Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi 2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY 2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN 2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI 2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI 2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI 2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY 2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI 2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition) 2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Marriage of the Minds, Fairfield Center for Contemporary Art, Sturgeon Bay, WI 2006 27th Annual Contemporary Crafts, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2006 Containers of All Dimensions, Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2005 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2004 Right at Home: American Studio Furniture, Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. 2004 American Collections, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2004 More Than Drawers-Wisconsin Cabinets, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2004 Objects of Wonder, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI 2003 Planting, Potting and Pruning, Wustum Museum of Fine Art, Racine, WI 2003 Men at Work, Miller Art Museum, Sturgeon Bay, WI 2002 Case Pieces: Contemporary Studio Furniture, Elvehjem Museum of Art, Univ of WI-Madison 2002 Sitting Pretty: Contemporary Wisconsin Chairs...
Category

2010s American American Craftsman Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure, Modern and Minimalist Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure No. 248 occupies an important place within Jim Rose’s legacy as a distilled, architectural meditation born directly from the material logic of his studio practice. Constructed from steel and aluminum found objects salvaged during the making of his quilt cabinets...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Shaker Inspired Chest of Drawers, Steel Furniture Natural Rust Patina
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Chest of Drawers distills Jim Rose’s legacy into one of its most elemental and enduring forms. Referencing the familiar typology of the tall American chest, the piece demonstrates Rose’s ability to take a deeply known domestic object and reimagine it through steel without diminishing its sense of warmth, gravity, or usefulness. The form is immediately legible, yet quietly transformed by material and surface. The vertical stack of drawers emphasizes order, repetition, and proportion—principles central to Rose’s practice and drawn from his engagement with Shaker furniture and early American casework. The subtle variations in the natural rust patina across each drawer front introduce a quilt-like rhythm, allowing the surface to register time, labor, and the material’s prior life. Rather than concealing steel’s industrial origins, Rose allows them to coexist with the intimacy of a bedroom or living space. Structurally and conceptually, the piece embodies Rose’s belief in furniture as a long-term companion. The chest is straightforward, durable, and deliberately unadorned, relying on balance and material integrity rather than stylistic gesture. Within his broader body of work, this chest stands as a quiet manifesto: an assertion that contemporary furniture can be honest, restrained, and deeply humane—objects meant not to impress at first glance, but to earn their place through use, time, and presence. Jim Rose Chest of Drawers repurposed steel with natural rust patina 78h x 35w x 18d in 198.12h x 88.90w x 45.72d cm JR0270 Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi 2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY 2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN 2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI 2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI 2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI 2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY 2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI 2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition) 2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Marriage of the Minds...
Category

Early 2000s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose - Repurposed Steel Bookcase in Natural Rusted Patina, Art Furniture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Book Case stands as a distilled expression of Jim Rose’s legacy, revealing his commitment to clarity, restraint, and the moral weight of utility. The open, rectilinear form reca...
Category

1990s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Steel and Wood Assemblage - Industrial sculpture - Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Assemblage No.02 is a captivating statement piece. Heavy, Rough and impenetrable, this sculpture is a testament to Jim Rose's work. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master...
Category

2010s American Rustic Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose - Coffee Table, Steel Furniture, Hot Rolled and Repurposed Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Coffee Table occupies a particularly intimate place within Jim Rose’s legacy, offering a clear view into how his principles operated at the most personal level. Made for his own apartment and kept in his private collection until his death, the piece reflects Rose’s belief that furniture should be lived with daily—tested, trusted, and allowed to age alongside its maker. Formally, the table is pared down to essentials: a broad, planar top supported by cylindrical legs, all executed in hot-rolled and found painted steel. The restraint of the design underscores Rose’s commitment to clarity and proportion, while the visible wear and remnants of paint on the legs preserve the material’s prior life. As in much of his work, these traces are not concealed or refined away; they are integral to the piece’s character, allowing time, labor, and use to remain legible. Unlike his more overtly referential quilt cabinets, this table speaks quietly, embodying Rose’s ethos through use rather than symbolism. Its generous scale and grounded stance suggest durability and communal presence—furniture meant to support everyday rituals rather than command attention. That Rose chose to keep this piece for himself reinforces its significance as a personal benchmark for what he valued most: honesty of material, usefulness, and a sense of calm permanence. Within his broader body of work, this coffee table stands as a testament to Rose’s integrity as a maker. It demonstrates that his philosophy was not reserved for commissions or exhibitions, but applied equally to the objects he lived with. In that sense, the table becomes a subtle self-portrait—an object shaped by restraint, patience, and quiet confidence, embodying the values that define Jim Rose’s enduring legacy. Jim Rose Coffee Table hot roll and found painted steel 18h x 34w x 60d in 45.72h x 86.36w x 152.40d cm JR0257 Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery, Ephraim, Wi 2015 NEO, Chipstone Foundation, Milwaukee Art Museum, Milwaukee, WI 2015 ICFF, Furniture Society, Javits Convention Center, New York City, NY 2013 Vahki Revisited, The Enduring Spirit of a Craft Collection” Mesa Contemporary Arts, Mesa, AZ 2013 Fearless Furniture, Indiana State Museum and Historic Sites, Indianapolis, IN 2013 Inaugural Exhibition, Museum Wisconsin of Art, West Bend, WI 2012 Sitting Pretty: Furniture from RAM’s Collection, Racine Art Museum, WI 2011 Hiding Places: Memory in the Arts, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI 2010 Living with Art, Strohl Art Center, Chautauqua Institution, NY 2009 Summer in Wisconsin, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2009 High Honors, James Watrous Gallery, Madison, WI 2008 Second Lives: Remixing the Ordinary, Museum of Art and Design, NY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Art Association, Jackson, WY 2007 Transformation 5: Contemporary Works in Found Materials, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX (traveling exhibition) 2006 Show us Your Drawers, Herron School of Art, Indianapolis, IN 2006 Marriage of the Minds...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose Legacy Collection - Chest of Drawers, Solid Cast Iron Miniature
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Chest of Drawers Maquette (2003) offers a concentrated and revealing insight into Jim Rose’s legacy, capturing his approach to furniture as both sculptural inquiry and domestic ...
Category

Early 2000s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Assemblage No. 08 - Found Object Minimalist Welded Steel Wall Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure, Modern and Minimalist Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure No. 244 reveals a quieter but essential strand of Jim Rose’s legacy—his ability to recognize expressive potential in the byproducts of making and to elevate remnants into resolved forms. Created from repurposed painted steel scraps generated during the construction of his quilt cabinets...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Jim Rose Two-Door Chinese Coins Quilt Cupboard, Functional Art Steel Furniture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Two Door Chinese Coin Quilt Cupboard represents a mature synthesis of Jim Rose’s legacy, where material ethics, cultural reference, and formal discipline converge with exceptional clarity. The cabinet’s surface draws directly from the visual language of Gee’s Bend quilts, particularly those incorporating circular or coin-like motifs, whose rhythmic repetition and improvisational structure resonate strongly with Rose’s own compositional instincts. As with his other quilt cabinets, the color and pattern here are not authored through paint but assembled through selection. Every colored panel is fabricated from found, pre-painted steel salvaged from signage, industrial machinery, and utilitarian structures, and all hues remain in their original state. Rose did not alter these surfaces; instead, he composed them with the care of a quilter, honoring their prior function and embedded histories. This approach situates the work within a lineage of resourcefulness and reuse, aligning Rose’s practice ethically as well as visually with the Gee’s Bend tradition. The dark steel framework provides a stabilizing armature, its rectilinear grid holding the animated interior panels in balance. The cabinet form itself—familiar, grounded, and domestic—anchors the visual complexity, ensuring that the piece remains furniture first, not image alone. The “coin” references introduce a subtle circular counterpoint to the otherwise linear composition, deepening the sense of rhythm and movement across the doors. Within Jim Rose’s broader body of work, this cupboard stands as a powerful statement of continuity: between craft traditions, between past and present, and between material life cycles. It exemplifies his enduring contribution to contemporary furniture—demonstrating how objects can carry cultural memory not through imitation, but through thoughtful reuse, disciplined composition, and profound respect for the origins of both material and form. Jim Rose Two Door Chinese Coin Quilt Cupboard hot roll and found painted steel 38.25h x 53.88w x 21d in 97.16h x 136.84w x 53.34d cm JR0249 Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose Barn House Structure, Welded Steel Sculpture Made with Salvaged Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure No. 246 (2022) represents a late and quietly eloquent strand of Jim Rose’s legacy, one rooted in attentiveness to process and the expressive potential of remnants. Made from repurposed painted steel scraps generated during the construction of his quilt cabinets...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose, Two Door Strip Quilt Cabinet, Functional Art Steel Furniture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Two Door Strip Quilt Cabinet stands as one of the clearest expressions of Jim Rose’s legacy, uniting his commitments to material honesty, historical...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Kupjack Studios Sterling Silver Collectibles - Tiny Curated Set For the Writer
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
For the Writer Sterling Silver Writer's Set* set includes: Candelabra with candles, Ink pots with quill, cup, blotting pad, tiny piece of paper, plexi-display case with display block. *Desk not included, coming soon. Available to order.* For the first time in over 30 years, we are thrilled to present three curated sets of sterling silver, rhodium-plated miniatures. Within the three sets, you will find something for the writer, the coffee drinker, and any special celebration. Using Eugene Kupjack’s original patterns from the Miniature Reproductions of Antique Silver set...
Category

2010s American Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Sterling Silver

Jim Rose Two-Door Strips Quilt Cupboard, Brightly Colored Steel Art Furniture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Two-Door Strips Quilt Cupboard stands as a concise and confident expression of Jim Rose’s legacy, encapsulating his commitment to reuse, historical dialogue, and disciplined making. The cabinet’s surface draws directly from the strip-quilt tradition of Gee’s Bend, whose layered bands, irregular rhythms, and intuitive compositions offered Rose a powerful model for organizing difference within order. As in those quilts, the surface here reads as both structured and improvisational—anchored by repetition, yet animated by variation. Crucially, the color in this work is entirely inherited rather than applied. All of the colored panels are fabricated from found, pre-painted steel salvaged from signage, industrial machinery, and utilitarian sources, and the hues remain exactly as discovered. Rose did not paint or alter these surfaces; instead, he selected and composed them, allowing scratches, wear, and traces of former use to remain visible. This approach aligns his practice materially and ethically with the Gee’s Bend tradition, where resourcefulness and reuse are fundamental acts of making. The dark steel framework and cylindrical corner posts provide a stabilizing architectural armature, holding the vibrant strips in quiet tension and grounding the piece firmly in furniture rather than image alone. The familiar two-door cupboard form reinforces Rose’s belief that even the most visually complex surfaces must ultimately serve domestic function and daily life. Within Rose’s broader body of work, this cupboard exemplifies his enduring contribution to contemporary furniture: demonstrating how objects can carry cultural memory through material itself, how restraint can coexist with richness, and how thoughtful reuse can transform industrial remnants into furniture of warmth, dignity, and lasting presence. Jim Rose Two-door strips quilt cupboard Hot roll and found painted steel 36 H x 35 W x 18 D in 91.44 H x 88.90 W x 45.72 D cm Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Shaker Inspired Settee, Shaker Style in Painted Repurposed Steel by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Settee offers a revealing counterpoint within Jim Rose’s legacy, demonstrating his ability to work fluently within historical forms while subtly expanding his material and visua...
Category

1990s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel Industrial Objects on Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here, a beautifully rusted tobacco box, a steel egg...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Jim Rose - Construct No. 02, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various washers and cyl...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Plate, Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of found steel is reworked and...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Assemblage No. 10, Found Object Minimalist Welded Steel Wall Sculpture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose - Construct No. 05, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various metal pieces to...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 3 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 07 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found Object Sculpture - Collected Steel Assemblage No. 05 by Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Using entirely found and collected steel objects, this sculpture shows the beauty of repurposed steel. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master welder as well as artistic c...
Category

2010s American Shaker Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Minimalist Modern Structure, Rusted Steel on Wood Block Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, found steel objects are welded together to ...
Category

2010s American Minimalist Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Jim Rose Barn House Structure, Welded Steel Object Made with Salvaged Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure #168 encapsulates Jim Rose’s ability to distill his larger furniture and quilt-cabinet practice into a compact, sculptural form, reinforcing a key aspect of his legacy: the seamless movement between utility, abstraction, and architectural metaphor. Made from found steel with natural rust patina and traces of original paint, the piece emerges directly from the byproducts of his quilt cabinet process—scraps that Rose treated not as waste, but as material charged with possibility. The pitched roof and block-like mass evoke a small building or shelter, a recurring motif in Rose’s Structure series. Here, that architectural reference is pared down to essentials, with crisp seams and planar surfaces defining the form. The small yellow painted rectangle—retained from the steel’s previous life—functions like a visual punctuation, echoing the found-color compositions of his quilt cabinets while asserting the autonomy of the sculpture. As with his larger works, Rose did not apply this color; its presence speaks to his respect for the material’s history and his role as an editor rather than a decorator. In the context of his legacy, Structure #168 demonstrates how Rose expanded his vocabulary beyond furniture into a more intimate, contemplative scale. These sculptures reveal his sensitivity to proportion, surface, and narrative embedded in industrial remnants. They underscore a defining principle of his work: that meaning and beauty can emerge from the margins of making, where process, reuse, and restraint converge into a quietly powerful form. Jim Rose Structure #168 found steel with natural rust patina and paint 6h x 4.50w x 2.50d in 15.24h x 11.43w x 6.35d cm Bio Jim Rose (1966–2023) was an American furniture maker, artist, and metalworker whose work occupied a singular position between studio craft, sculpture, and functional design. Born in Beech Grove, Indiana, Rose trained as a sculptor, earning his BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1988 after a brief period of study at Bard College. This sculptural foundation shaped his approach to furniture, in which proportion, structure, and surface were treated with the same rigor as utility, and everyday objects were understood as vehicles for aesthetic and ethical values. Working primarily in steel—often reclaimed or salvaged—Rose challenged conventional expectations of furniture materials. Through brushing, waxing, and patination, he developed surfaces that softened steel’s industrial associations, imparting warmth, depth, and a sense of age. His work drew on diverse historical and cultural sources, including Shaker furniture, Asian cabinetry, and the quilts of Gee’s Bend, yet these influences were never literal. Instead, Rose translated their underlying principles—clarity, restraint, repetition, and balance—into a contemporary language grounded in material honesty. Based for much of his career in Wisconsin, Rose was closely associated with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, including participation in its Arts/Industry residency program. His furniture and objects were widely exhibited in galleries and design fairs across the United States and featured in publications such as American Craft and Architectural Digest. His work entered both private and institutional collections during his lifetime, reflecting a sustained engagement with collectors, curators, and designers. Rose’s furniture is distinguished by its emphasis on durability, adaptability, and use. Cabinets, chairs, benches, and tables were engineered for longevity and daily life, incorporating practical features such as steel drawer glides, modular construction, and discreet accommodations for modern technology. This functional intelligence was inseparable from his broader philosophy: furniture, for Rose, was a form of quiet service, meant to support human activity while carrying forward the history embedded in its materials. Jim Rose’s work is held in the permanent collections of major institutions including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Carnegie Museum of Art, and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. Following his death in 2023, his legacy endures through a body of work that demonstrates how contemporary furniture can be both materially rigorous and deeply humane—objects shaped by patience, integrity, and an enduring respect for use. Education: 1989 B.F.A., Sculpture, The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, IL 1988 Student at Large, Welding Technology, Triton College, Chicago, IL 1985 Undergraduate Photography Bard College, Annandale-on-Hudson, New York Awards: 2008 Wisconsin Arts Board Fellowship Award, Madison, WI 2005 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize, Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh, PA 2003 Grant Recipient for Shaker Interpretations in Cast Iron, PA Arts Assoc / WI Arts Board 2003 Arts/Industry Residency Program for Visual Artists, John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin Solo Exhibitions: 2023 CODA Final Show, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 New Work, Tory Folliard Gallery, Milwaukee, WI 2012 Simply Steel, Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI 2007 Variation, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2003 New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 Shaker in Steel / New Work, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL 1999 Hands and Heart to Steel III, Ann Nathan Gallery, Chicago, IL National Exhibitions: 2023 Intersect Palm Springs, Gallery VICTOR, Palm Springs Convention Center, CA 2017 - 2018 SOFA Chicago – Gallery Victor Armendariz 1995 - 2016 SOFA Chicago, New York, Palm Beach - Ann Nathan Gallery 2011 - 2002 Art Chicago - Ann Nathan Gallery Group Exhibitions: 2022 Wunderkammer: Victor's Cabinet of Curiosities – 5th Anniversary Special Exhibit, Gallery VICTOR, Chicago, IL 2017 Coming Attractions: Inaugural Exhibition, Gallery Victor Armendariz, Chicago, IL 2017 Living with Art: The Newman Collection, 108 Contemporary, Tulsa, Oklahoma 2016 Form Follows Function: The Intersection of Art and Craft, The Hardy Gallery...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Assemblage No.04 - Steel and Wood Assemblage - Industrial sculpture - Jim Rose
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Assemblage No.04 is a captivating statement piece. Heavy, Rough and impenetrable, this sculpture is a testament to Jim Rose's work. Meticulously crafted, artist Jim Rose was a master...
Category

2010s American Rustic Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose Two Door - Six Drawer Cupboard Maquette, Solid Cast Iron Furniture
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
This Two Door – Six Drawer Cupboard Maquette offers a rare and revealing glimpse into Jim Rose’s legacy at the level of process and intention. Created during his residency at the Joh...
Category

2010s American Mid-Century Modern Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel, Iron

Jim Rose Barn House Structure, Welded Steel Sculpture Made with Salvaged Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure No. 222 occupies a quietly pivotal place within Jim Rose’s legacy, embodying his ability to extract meaning from the margins of his own making process. Created from found s...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel Structure on a Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Plate, Wooden Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of found steel is reworked whi...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel Structure on a Steel & Wooden Circular Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Jim Rose - Construct No. 03, Salvaged Steel and Aluminum Industrial Objects
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has welded together various washers, nuts, ...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found and Salvaged Steel House Structure on a Reclaimed Steel Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Jim Rose, known primarily for his steel furniture, was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique and interesting items. Here, a collection of spare parts come together ...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Metal, Steel

Found and Salvaged Industrial Objects, Metal Sculpture on Base
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Known for his steel furniture, Jim Rose was an avid collector and scoured salvage yards for unique, interesting items. Here he has paired various repurposed finds together to create...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel, Metal

Jim Rose Barn House Structure, Welded Steel Sculpture Made with Salvaged Steel
By Jim Rose
Located in Chicago, IL
Structure No. 220 captures a particularly architectural and exploratory dimension of Jim Rose’s legacy, revealing how his furniture practice naturally expanded into sculptural inquir...
Category

2010s American Folk Art Jim Rose Furniture

Materials

Steel

Jim Rose furniture for sale on 1stDibs.

Jim Rose furniture are available for sale on 1stDibs. These distinctive items are frequently made of steel and are designed with extraordinary care. There are many options to choose from in our collection of Jim Rose furniture, although black editions of this piece are particularly popular. We have 1 vintage editions of these items in-stock, while there is 31 modern edition to choose from as well. Many of the original furniture by Jim Rose were created in the folk art style in united states during the 21st century and contemporary. Prices for Jim Rose furniture can differ depending upon size, time period and other attributes — on 1stDibs, these items begin at $350 and can go as high as $11,000, while a piece like these, on average, fetch $1,775.