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Christopher Kurtz (born 1975) grew up in Excelsior Springs, Missouri. He studied sculpture at the Kansas City Art Institute, Landscape Architecture at The GSD at Harvard University (Career Discovery Program) and received a BFA in sculpture from The New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in Alfred, New York.

After college, he went on to work as the studio assistant to artist Martin Puryear, who is the subject of a recent retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art in New York (traveled). While working with Puryear, Christopher refined his woodworking skills and began maturing as an artist.

In 2005 Christopher set up his studio in the Hudson Valley of New York State. Kurtz has always had a passion for furniture and began experimenting with some designs. In 2008 he expanded his studio practice to include furniture design in addition to sculpture.

Kurtz has gained international attention with his sculpture and furniture designs; and is included in several public and private collections. Recently, Christopher’s work has been included in traveling museum exhibitions which include, “Against the Grain: Wood in Contemporary Art, Craft and Design” at The Museum of Art and Design (MAD) in New York City and The Ft. Lauderdale Art Museum; and “Making America; Myth, Memory Identity”, at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts.

Christopher has received numerous grants and awards, including the prestigious Louis Comfort Tiffany Award in ‘05, and in ‘07 he received a New York Foundation For the Arts (NYFA) Award (Lily Auchincloss fellow). Christopher currently serves as an advisor for NYFA in the field of crafts.