New Exhibition of The Wood-Turned Artistry of Wilbur C. Mock on Display

MUSKINGUM COUNTY, Ohio- The Zanesville Museum of Art (ZMA) will be having a new exhibition that displays the work of wood-turner and Muskingum County native, Wilbur C. “Wib” Mock.

Mock has been working with wood since the 1950s and then in 1954, he started his own company, Mock Woodworking, that first specialized in residential cabinetry, but now creates beautiful woodwork for commercial spaces.

Doug Mock, the son of Wilbur Mock stated that his father taught himself how to use the lathe for wood shaping and the exhibition will showcase over 25 years of work.

“So he’s sort of a self taught and correspondence who taught designer. So most of these pieces start with a design that he originated and then makes the pieces to fit that design,” Doug Mock said. “So, some of these you see are very unique. They have as many as 50 pieces of wood in one piece, a lot of segments, there’s a little bit of technology involved with it too, but it’s handwork and his designs,”

According to the Zanesville Museum of Art, Wilbur Mock used local woods such as cherry, oak and exotic woods such as Bubinga and Sapele. 

Laine Snyder, Executive Director of the ZMA explained how the collaboration came about and that the museum has actually partnered with Mock Woodworking several times over the years creating custom cabinetry for the museum.

“I didn’t know Wib Mock created hand turn pieces. So his son, Doug Mock, reached out to the museum and said ‘you know, we have this whole body of work and it would be really wonderful if the museum could celebrate this artistry,’” Snyder said. “When I saw the work, I was blown away by the quality and beauty of the work. They’re so dynamic and people who are interested in wood or woodworking will love these pieces too.”

ZMA is now open to the public, where you can view the exhibition Wednesday’s and Friday’s, 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Thursday 10:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. There will also be an exhibition lecture conducted by Doug Mock on November 11, 2021. 

To view the display on the webpage, you can visit zanesvilleart.org.