Knock on Wood by Egg Collective: echoes of superstition and the kinship of trees

Through the course of human history, wood has held a special place in cultures across the globe. From the sacred groves of Ancient Greece to the 'Tree of Life' in Norse mythology, it has often been revered as a conduit between the earthly and the divine. In many pagan traditions, trees were believed to be home to spirits, making the simple act of touching or knocking on them a ritual of protection and gratitude—a gesture that has trickled down into language and superstition to this day. Drawing on these layered histories, Knock on Wood, an ongoing exhibition by New York-based firm Egg Collective, gathers contemporary artists who explore and 'manipulate' wood, dabbling with themes of luck and emphasising the deeply reciprocal relationship between maker and material in both practice and belief. The design exhibition runs from May 13 – August 29, 2025, and opened to the public during NYCxDESIGN this year.

The group show emerges from the vision of Egg Collective, a design studio founded in 2011 by Stephanie Beamer, Crystal Ellis and Hillary Petrie, and takes place at their Tribeca gallery on Hudson Street, NY. Rooted in a shared background of art, architecture and woodworking, the trio established the studio with an admiration for natural materials and a belief in the integrity of the handmade. Their practice balances sculptural form with enduring function, creating work that honours craftsmanship, community and the material world. This same ethos of treating materials as sacred and storytelling as implicit in design extends into their curatorial approach. Through Knock on Wood, Egg Collective expands its mission to bridge fine arts and applied arts, while spotlighting designers and artists who engage wood not just as a medium, but as a collaborator.

Spanning sculptural art, furniture design, textiles, ceramics and printmaking, Knock on Wood stages a group of artists whose practices are diverse and sensitive towards the material they engage with. Creatives such as Natasha Alphonse, Suzanne Caporael, Hildegarde Haas, Minjae Kim, Kieran Kinsella, Kiva Motnyk, Rodger Stevens, Joshua Vogel, Julian Watts and Rick Yoshimoto manipulate wood through a lens of intuition, ritual and chance.

Caporael's atmospheric paintings, rooted in scientific observation, dialogue with Watts' biomorphic carvings that blur body and object. Kinsella's table designs, such asKnotty (2025), carved from salvaged trunks, evoke animist traditions, while Vogel's meticulous craftsmanship and a meditative rhythm of handwork guide his wooden totems.

Motnyk contributes to the show with experimental textile designs informed by natural dyeing and quilting traditions. Pieces such as Tree Study (2023) emerge as homage to a process of discovery and making that parallels the tactile engagement found in Yoshimoto's sculptural furniture shaped by his time with seminal Californian artist JB Blunk. Minjae Kim's architectural training surfaces in his hybrid forms, where sculpture and function coalesce in intuitive gestures of joinery.

The late Hildegarde Haas' woodblock prints serve as historical counterpoints, reminding viewers of the medium's graphic potential and physical intensity. Alphonse's wood-fired ceramic works, influenced by the rugged landscape of Northern Saskatchewan and her Dene heritage, extend the show's conversation beyond wood alone to a broader material kinship. Together, the artists share a fluency in working with their hands, adorning the exhibition space with this expertise.

In a time when questions surrounding sustainability, material ethics and consumerism are more urgent than ever, Knock on Wood invites a reconsideration of how we engage with the physical world. By centring wood—a material that holds memory and history—Knock on Wood pushes back against the extractive mindset that defines much of contemporary culture. Instead, it celebrates slowness, attentiveness and reciprocity. The show foregrounds not only the aesthetic power of the handmade but also the unseen dialogue between artist and material: a quiet collaboration built on respect, curiosity and care.

'Knock on Wood' is on view from May 13 – August 29, 2025, at Egg Collective's Tribeca gallery in New York, the United States.