Joshua Diatte

Artist Statement

My work explores the intersection of sculpture and functional furniture. Inspired by Sam Maloof’s belief that furniture should invite the human body rather than force it, I build heirloom rocking chairs for those looking for a unique art piece to hold memories, begin conversations, and—most importantly—provide a place to sit you never want to leave.

I consider structure and comfort as part of the same language. Joints flow, surfaces are hand-shaped to cradle, and engineering choices—bent lamination, rare wood species pairing sourced from as far as Africa and Hawaii, tenon clearances, and tuned backbraces—are visible elements that allow the chair to flex to the sitter.

My aim is simple and focused: to make pieces that are resolved sculpturally yet uncompromisingly comfortable. These are chairs meant to be a piece of art for daily use, for conversation, and for sitting and remembering—objects designed to be loved now and still belong to a family fifty years from today.

Biography

Joshua Diatte (b. 1996) is a self-taught furniture maker and sculptor building heirloom rocking chairs inspired by the work of Sam Maloof. He began working sculpturally in 2010, and as a teenager his work earned a regional Gold Key in the Scholastic Art & Writing Awards, representing the Ohio, Indiana, and Kentucky region and advancing to national judging. Not long after, he discovered the work of Sam Maloof through reading, along with that of Windsor chairmaker Hal Taylor—both became virtual mentors who guided him from sculpture into building furniture by 2012.

In the years since, Diatte has developed his joinery, bent-lamination, and finishing techniques entirely through hands-on practice in the shop. By day, he works as a dentist—a practice that has sharpened the precision and patience he brings to woodworking, training his eye to notice grain, tension, and tolerance that others might overlook. His chairs are built from rare and exotic woods sourced from around the world; for this exhibition, he selected timber and burl gathered from Africa and Hawaii, each piece chosen not only for its character but for its ability to perform as a rocking chair for generations. For Diatte, sourcing material is as much a part of the craft as building the chair itself—a search for wood distinctive enough to stop a viewer mid-step and start a conversation.