David Jackson has been conserving and collecting tansu since 1990. He earned his bachelor's degree at the University of Maryland and completed graduate studies at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 1982, where he studied sculpture and woodworking. Mr. Jackson developed a passion for Japanese woodwork while apprenticing with sculptor Martin Puryear. He curated a 1996 tansu exhibition sponsored by the Graham Foundation for the Advancement in the Fine Arts in Chicago, one of the first exhibitions in the United States to be devoted solely to tansu. He authored an article entitled "Tansu Exposed," which appeared in the June 1997 issue of "Woodwork" magazine. In January 2007 David was the featured artist in "The Laurel of Asheville" in an article entitled "Foreign Trade". David resides in Weaverville, NC. << - - - Photo by Jennifer McNally "The Laurel of Asheville".

				Experience 2010 - Present Freelance antique restoration, Asheville, NC. 2009 - 2010 Conservation of Japanese antiques for Shibui, Brooklyn, NY. 2003 - 2009 Craftsman, conservation and appraisal of Japanese antiques, mount making and restoration of ethnographic objects. Weaverville, NC. 1999 - 2003 Craftsman; Salesman; Assistant Gallery Manager Shibui Inc., Santa Fe, NM • Conservation and sales of antique Japanese cabinetry and folk art • Custom woodwork and carving • Mount making for artifacts • Website maintenance 1995 - 1999 Owner & Craftsman David Jackson Craftsman, Chicago, IL and Santa Fe, NM • Conservation and sales of antique Japanese cabinetry • Design and production of custom lighting, custom woodworking. • Sculpture conservation • Freelance restoration of Asian and African folk art 1992 - 1996 Instructor Art Institute of Chicago & Elston School, Chicago, IL • Taught Japanese woodworking, beginning woodworking and sculpture to college level students and adult education classes 1990 - Present Conservator Martin Puryear Studio, Accord, NY • Conservation of Martin Puryear's sculpture 1984 - 1988 • Apprentice to Martin Puryear, Sculptor, Chicago, IL 1983-1984 • Volunteer Instructor: Woodworking program for elders, Peace Corps: Micronesia

			Exhibitions & Grants May 2007 • Research grant: "Kaidan dansu history" Japan Foundation NYC 2002 • Research grant: "History of the Japanese Cabinetmaker" The Graham Foundation, Chicago, IL 1996 • Curated Exhibtion: "Tansu Exposed: The Craft of Japanese Antique Cabinetry" Graham Foundation, Chicago, IL 1989 • Visual Arts Grant, Pollock-Krasner Foundation, NYC 1980 - 1982 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, Master of Fine Arts • Sculpture, Woodworking, and Art History 1974 - 1978 University of Maryland, College Park, MD Bachelor of Arts • Fine Arts

		Publications 2009 - "The Unknown Background to Japan's Staircase Chests" DARUMA #61, Winter issue. 2008 - "The Japanese Step-Chest" WOODWORK Magazine, December issue. 2002 - "Japanese Cabinetry, The Art and Craft of Tansu" Gibbs Smith Publisher, Layton, UT. 1997 - "Tansu Exposed: The Craft of Japanese Antique Cabinetry", WOODWORK Magazine, April 1996

		2007 Japan Foundation Fellowship: Hako Kaidan
				David Jackson Fellowship Project: The Kaidan Dansu, a Stairway in Historical Shadow The cabinetry of Japan known as tansu has within its multiplicity of designs something truly unique: a hybrid that is both staircase and cupboard. It is invariably known as the hakodan, hako kaidan, also the kaidan-dansu, literally box stair and stair chest or step-chest. Its history has been obscured by myth and anecdote as no other tansu that I know of, both its origins and uses. The Kaidan Dansu (2.5 mb Adobe Acrobat pdf file) -->

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