Thomas Moser’s importance to the world of craftsmanship and fine furniture is now celebrated and examined at Maine College of Art’s (MECA) Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA) retrospective, “Thos. Moser: Legacy in Wood.” The exhibition runs through Sept. 20 in Portland.

Thos. Moser has devoted more than 44 years to the artistry and craft of designing and building Handmade American Furniture. Curated by former Maine Arts Commission Director Donna McNeil, the exhibit coincides with the release of Moser’s new book, also titled “Legacy in Wood,” which is co-authored by McNeil and published by Down East Books.

The exhibition surveys Moser’s decades-long engagement with wood: from struggling to find his passion, learning through master craftsmen before him, leaving a tenured teaching position to pursue furniture making full time, and devoting himself to craft. His entrepreneurial endeavor not only generated a livelihood for his family, but also supported a community of craftsmen, ultimately delivering ethical and sustainable objects of beauty and utility.

“The exhibition demonstrates how art, craft, design and entrepreneurship can come together to create a process and aesthetic that is recognized well beyond Maine and New England,” said MECA President Donald Tuski.

Moser’s chairs, tables, beds and desks are fashioned from American hardwood to endure longer than it took the tree to grow in the forests of the Allegheny Plateau of Western Pennsylvania. The exhibit follows Moser’s journey from early design iterations through several design changes or variations on a central theme, always returning to what Moser via Plato calls “ultimate chairness.”

“It’s a privilege to share our story and have our life’s work on display with MECA’s Institute of Contemporary Art,” says Moser. “The exhibit has two objectives: share with others the joy we have known in crafting furnishings that will surely outlive all of us and offer to the student of craft a role model which demonstrates that our national system of enterprise is alive and well, and we all have the freedom to become all that we are capable of being.” For Moser, “All meaning ultimately is invented.”

The Thos. Moser exhibition at MECA’s ICA, located at 522 Congress Street, Portland, is free and open to the public Wednesday through Sunday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Thursday 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. and First Fridays 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

For more information, contact rdersimonian@meca.edu or visit www.meca.edu/ica.