A love for natural materials, in particular wood, has led Rick Allender into the practice of modern marquetry. He works with the swirl-grained timber found in the crooks and lumps on trees, which are the sites at which they branch or have had to heal. Allender’s series, Cams, refers in both title and form to the applications of the Reuleux triangle as a constant width curve or machine component. Wood in a variety of tones and lustres is contrasted in abstract geometric compositions which suggest mathematical or mechanical underpinnings.

Allender works from Dornwell Studios, a shared professional studio space in Auckland. He has recently held solo exhibitions at Waiheke Community Gallery and Northart and his work is held in several private collections throughout NZ.