Richard Dial

American, born 1955

BiographyRichard Dial was born in 1955. He is the son of Thornton Dial and younger brother of Thornton Dial, Jr. In 1984 he established Dial Metal Patterns known for its “quality wrought-iron furniture.” Relying both on his expertise acquired as a machinist at Pullman Standard Company and the support of his father and brother, Richard Dial was able to profit from the failure of the large-scale industries in the Birmingham District by hiring their skilled laborers to help him with his burgeoning cottage industry. His product line—”Shade Tree Comfort”—led to the use of “comfort” in a series of sculptures, dating from late 1987 to early 1989. In these chair-sculptures, Dial joined furniture with art, bringing together industrial techniques with custom design and hand-finishing, and focused more often on uncomfortable situations than on comfortable ones.

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