Andrew Carruthers Offbeat Series: "Dimpled Viola," 2020, Not For Sale | Metzler Violins

This instrument is not for sale. Our collaboration foregoes traditional sales in lieu of pure inspiration. By loaning these instruments to like-minded artists, we hope they will become catalysts for creativity, connection, and exploration.
 If you see exciting possibilities here please reach out to us.  

About the Instrument
This viola was the first Andrew crafted in the Offbeat Quartet and is based on a Guarneri model. When studying old instruments, tool marks on the original—traces of the original master’s hand—reveal the qualities of the raw material and the maker’s process. With this dimpled viola, Andrew explores this phenomenon further. Leaving the work straight ”off the gouge” showcases the highly sculptural stages that occur during the instrument making process, before makers smooth the finished surfaces. During the carving of the viola, the tool’s repetitive cuts quickly became stylized, producing a texture and rhythm. Andrew modified antiquing techniques to deepen the visual aesthetic, using a pale blue patina.

Material
Back: Aspen
Top: Italian Spruce
Neck: Maple
Finish: Antiqued oil varnish

Length: 412 mm (16.25“)
Upper Bouts: 196 mm
Middle Bouts: 143 mm
Lower Bouts: 242 mm
Ribs: 36 at top block, 36 at lower

About the Maker
Andrew Carruthers (1957- ) is a contemporary luthier who was born in Oxfordshire, England. Carruthers initially worked as a Research Associate at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory before pursuing instrument making, whereupon he returned to the United Kingdom to attend the now-defunct Welsh School of Violin Making and Repair. Carruthers then came stateside to Chicago, working under the cello specialist Russell Wagner in the notable Bein & Fushi atelier. Carruthers focused predominantly on repair and restoration at Bein & Fushi, but came in early each day to build his own instruments. In 1994, Carruthers moved to Tacoma, Washington and ran a shop out of his basement, before settling in Santa Rosa, California the next year. Once in Santa Rosa, Carruthers did restorations for dealers and crafted his own instruments in equal measure. In 2015, Carruthers began to focus entirely on stringed instrument making, and has made hundreds of instruments based on Guarneri del Gesù, Stradivarius, Montagana models, as well as building many “off-beat” violins and cellos that expand the aesthetic of his craft. He also employs woods often neglected by other luthiers, including poplar and willow. He has earned several accolades for his instruments, including Violin Society of America’s Silver Medal for Cello Tone, as well as Certificate of Merit for Violin Tone and Cello Tone.

https://www.andrewcarruthers.com/

If you are seriously interested in commissioning a similar instrument from Mr. Carruthers, please phone us at 818-246-0278.