AAW’s Professional Outreach Program (POP) has selected Rex Kalehoff of Luxembourg and Lorin Bruckin of France as the 2025 POP Showcase Artists. Each year AAW showcases two wood artists at the AAW International Woodturning Symposium as part of this program. They are either experienced artists who have made significant contributions to the woodturning field but have not received appropriate recognition, or emerging artists who have the potential to make significant contributions to the field. At the 2025 Symposium, each artist will share their talents through demonstrations, a panel discussion, and a special exhibition of their work. Here is a little bit about each artist in their own words and a sample of their work:
About Rex Kalehoff:
“I am a fine woodworker, and the creator of unique-handmade sculptural, utilitarian, and decorative works of art. From New York City, I grew up on a wood sailboat, and spent many years of my life in Australia and Southeast Asia. Currently I live in Luxembourg, EU. My work emerges from personal experiences and fantasies exploring the natural world, together with my passion for ancient and indigenous cultures, technologies, and mythologies. Incorporating universal symbols and imagery that combine animals, objects and humans, I create works that portray intimate relationships with the earth - both harmonious and paradoxical. My creations are humorous and fun, while maintaining maturity and sophistication, with the aim of connecting cultures and making people smile. Wood is my primary medium and I utilize a fully equipped woodshop, with stationary machines and hand tools of all types." ~ Rex Kalehoff
Follow Rex on Instagram, @rexkalehoff
Samples of Rex's Work:
About Lorin Bruckin:
“I am a French woodturner living near Carcassonne. Since I discovered this way of creating and conveying stories, it was immediately obvious for me to include different materials into the wood in order to study the narrative potential that could arise from such combinations. Materials, such as copper, zinc or stone, already part of my daily life as a plumber, have gradually found their way into my work. First in the field of everyday objects through box creations, trays, or candlesticks, the pieces turned into sculptures like spherical shapes with natural or Nordic influences. The addition of hammer-shaped metal increasingly became the guideline of my explorations, always intending to give the illusion that the metal was hidden under the wood.“ ~Lorin Bruckin
Follow Lorin on Instagram, @lorinbruckin
Samples of Lorin's Work:
Congratulations to Rex and Lorin for this significant accomplishment!
Registration for the 2025 AAW International Woodturning Symposium opens on November 18, 2024. Join Rex, Lorin and thousands of other woodturning enthusiasts June 12-15 in St. Paul, Minnesota for the biggest woodturning event of the year.