History in the Making:
Renwick Craft Invitational 2011
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Washington DC
March 25 - July 31, 2011
“History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011” opens March 25 at the Renwick Gallery, the Smithsonian American Art Museum’s branch museum for craft and decorative arts, and closes July 31. The exhibition features 70 works by ceramic artist CLIFF LEE, furniture maker MATTHIAS PLIESSNIG, glass artist JUDITH SCHAECHTER and silversmith UBALDO VITALI. Each artist is a master of his or her medium and creates artworks that combine historical techniques with contemporary forms.
The artists were chosen by Nicholas R. Bell, curator at the museum’s Renwick Gallery; Ulysses Dietz, senior curator and curator of decorative arts at The Newark Museum; and Andrew Wagner, editor-in-chief of ReadyMade magazine. Bell is the curator of the exhibition. It is the fifth in the museum’s biennial series, intended to celebrate artists deserving of wider national recognition.
“‘History in the Making’ captures the thrilling way crafts evoke the ‘remembrance of things past,’” said Elizabeth Broun, The Margaret and Terry Stent Director of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. “These four artists have the traditions of their media embedded deeply in their minds and hands, so their work feels at once profoundly rooted and entirely fresh.”
“Vitali, Lee, Schaechter and Pliessnig use varied histories of craftsmanship and creative expression as points of departure in the pursuit of original art,” said Nicholas R. Bell. “Drawing from diverse cultural histories and experiences, these artists explore the depth of the creative wellspring for contemporary craft in the United States. The objects in the exhibition reveal how the most dedicated and skilled individuals produce works of uncommon splendor.”
UBALDO VITALI (b. 1944, works in Maplewood, NJ) is considered by some to be the greatest living silversmith in the United States. He is a fourth-generation silversmith, trained in the guild system of Rome, which ties him to the practices of previous generations. He also is a master conservator of antique silver and draws on his grasp of historical techniques to shape the contemporary pieces for which he is best known. His bravura works, such as “Tureen” (2001), combine undulating baroque forms and ornament with a distinctly modern spirit.
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| UBALDO VITALI |
Ubaldo Vitali
Tureen, 2001
silver, sodalite
Courtesy of the artist
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| UBALDO VITALI |
Ubaldo Vitali
25th Anniversary Tea and Coffee Service, 2004
(designed 1999)
silver, glass [glass by Len DiNardo]
Courtesy of Janet and Ricardo Zapata
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| UBALDO VITALI |
Ubaldo Vitali
Singerie Candlestick, 1976
silver
Collection of the artist
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| UBALDO VITALI |
Ubaldo Vitali
Triple Wave Pitcher, 1999
silver, ebony
Collection of the artist
CLIFF LEE (b. 1951, works in Stevens, Pa.) was raised in Taiwan, surrounded by China’s rich ceramic past through porcelain collected by his parents and frequent visits to the National Palace Museum. Although trained as a neurosurgeon, his medical career was eventually overshadowed by his passion for clay. The knowledge and skills he developed as a doctor inform his work. Lee’s skilled hands mold and carve impeccable vessels in homemade porcelain. His technical knowledge and understanding of chemistry have proven invaluable in re-creating previously lost Chinese glazes, such as the imperial yellow glaze that took 17 years to replicate.
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| CLIFF LEE |
Cliff Lee, Teardrop (left), 2000
porcelain, kuan glaze, india ink
Courtesy of Marilyn and Irwin Scher
Cliff Lee, Guan Ware Vase (right), 1994
porcelain, kuan glaze
Smithsonian American Art Museum
Gift of Carol and Bill Wright in memory of Dr. Edward L. Katz
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| CLIFF LEE |
Cliff Lee, Teardrop
porcelain, oxblood glaze, 2001
porcelain, chun blue glaze, 2004
porcelain, imperial yellow glaze, 2001
Courtesy of the artist
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| CLIFF LEE |
Cliff Lee, Prickly Melon (short and tall), 2008
Porcelain, imperial yellow glaze
Courtesy of the artist
JUDITH SCHAECHTER (b. 1961, works in Philadelphia) finds inspiration for her stained glass windows from disparate sources, including allegorical paintings, medieval tapestries, comic books, church windows, the American Civil War and punk rock. She almost single-handedly resurrected the art of stained glass in American studio craft by mastering the technical skills of a medium not previously used for personal narratives. Schaechter is known nationally and internationally as an innovator in the field.
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| JUDITH SCHAECHTER |
Judith Schaechter
The Floor, 2006
glass
Courtesy of Claire Oliver
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JUDITH SCHAECHTER |
Judith Schaechter
John Fletcher Hamlin Is No More, 2003
glass
Courtesy of David Mittleman and Hugh Glats
MATTHIAS PLIESSNIG (b. 1978, works in Philadelphia) uses traditional boat-building techniques to construct extraordinary furniture. His work blurs the lines between design, craft, sculpture and engineering. His organic forms are designed with 3-D modeling software and then assembled from steam-bent strips of white oak, melding ancient and futuristic technologies in the pursuit of comfort. A work in the exhibition, “Rivulet” (2009), has more than 7,000 points of contact, each joint locked with a tiny bamboo peg. Pliessnig has reinvigorated contemporary American furniture practice through his unexpected approach to design and dedication to craftsmanship.
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| MATTHIAS PLIESSNIG |
Matthias Pliessnig
Amada, 2010
white oak
Courtesy of Arthur Dantchik
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| MATTHIAS PLIESSNIG |
Matthias Pliessnig
Rivulet, 2009
white oak, bamboo
Courtesy of Arthur Dantchik
The EXHIBITION CATALOG, published by the museum and Scala Publishers Ltd., includes a foreword by Broun, essays by Bell, Dietz and Wagner, and biographies for each artist. The book is available in the museum’s store and online for $24.95 (softcover).
The Ryna and Melvin Cohen Family Foundation Endowment provides generous support for “History in the Making: Renwick Craft Invitational 2011.” The Cohen Family’s generosity in creating this endowment makes possible this biennial series highlighting outstanding craft artists who are deserving of wider national recognition.
The 2011 Renwick Craft Invitational is dedicated to the memory of Melvin S. Cohen, who died January 19, in recognition of his commitment to the arts, American craft and his community.
Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Pennsylvania Avenue at 17th Street N.W.
Washington DC
