Michael Spalt | At the Meeting Point of Art and Lutherie

Life With Strings Attached

For this week's episode of Life With Strings Attached, I joined Michael Spalt at his home and workshop in Portugal, where he recently relocated from Vienna.
For decades, Michael's work has developed at the intersection of art, design and instrument making, pushing boundaries and experimenting with surprising materials. Whether in series like his Totem guitars featuring resin tops, or in one-off highly decorative display pieces featuring built-in amps and inspired by literature and myth, he's been a pioneer in bringing an artist's approach and technical knowledge to the field of guitar making.
But now settled into his new life and workshop in a new country, what's next? In this conversation, we explore Michael's perspective on his career, what place art and artisanal craft has in the business of making instruments, and where he believes his work will take him next.