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P e o p l e &
P l a c e s
S i l v e r T a k e s
T h e P
r i z e
S IL V E R S M IT H U B A L D O V IT A L I
d id n ’t re co gn ize the num ber on
his cell phon e and d id n ’t h ave
tim e to talk; he w as b u y in g sup-
plies for his w o rk sh o p at H om e
D e p o t. T h e caller w a n te d 20
m inutes. “ I said, ‘N o , I d o n ’t
h ave th at kin d o f tim e. C a ll m e
to m o r ro w ,’ ” he recalls.
V ita li, w h o s e career h igh -
ligh ts in clud e com m ission s fo r
popes, presidents, and m useum s,
as w e ll as restorations o f price-
less artifacts (such as the reliquary
o f S t.Jo h n the B aptist and a tea-
p o t m ade b y Paul R eve re ), had
no idea th at a rep resen tative
o f th e John D . and C ath erin e
T . M a c A rth u r F o u n d a tio n
w as callin g to n o tify him o f his
selection as a M acA rth u r F ello w ,
w id e ly k n o w n as a “genius grant.”
T h e fo u rth -gen era tio n silve r-
sm ith w ill re ceive $500,000
o v e r the n e x t five years.
W h e n the foundation called
back, “it w as one o f those things
that w as like a dream . I still can-
n ot believe it,” V ita li says. “Y o u
w o rk because yo u have the pas-
sion, the fire in yo u r belly. Y o u
don’t do it to be recogn ized .”
V ita li is one o f 22 fe llo w s
an n ou nced in S ep tem b er, and
h e’s th e o n ly recip ien t from the
cra ft and visu al arts co m m u n ity
this year. T h e M a p le w o o d , N e w
Jersey-b ased craftsm an join s a
sele ct group o f craft artists w h o
h ave w o n the gran t, in clu d in g
Sam M a lo o f (furn itu re m aker),
T o m J o y c e (b lacksm ith ), T im o -
th y B arrett (paperm aker), and
C laire V a n V lie t (b o o k artist
and prin tm aker). O th e r 2011
M a c A rth u r aw ard ees in clude
an arch itect, an eco n o m ist, a
la w y e r , com p osers, jou rn alists,
h istorian s, m usicians, p o ets,
and scien tists.
In ad d ition to his w o r k as a
silversm ith , V ita li is a scholar
and h istorian , m ost re cen tly
pu b lish ed in
S i l v e r S t u d ie s :
T h e J o u r n a l o f t h e S i l v e r S o c ie t y .
C on scious o f his age (a youthfu l
6 7) and n o w arm ed w ith n e w
resources, he is d eterm in ed to
ram p up d ocu m en tatio n and
p u b lication o f his research on
old -w o rld m etal techniques.
“ I fe el I o w e it to th e m an y
p e o p le in m y life th at m en tored
m e,” he says. “ S om e o f them
aren’t here an ym ore, b u t cer-
ta in ly th e y ’re in m y m in d .”
V ita li w ill also con tin u e
w o rk in g w ith the m aterial that
has c a p tiva te d him sin ce he w as
a b o y , learn in g th e trade from
his fath er and gran dfath er in
R o m e , w h e re he g r e w up.
“ S ilv e r is v e r y s e x y , v e r y
sensual, co n trary to go ld . G o ld
is b o ld and arrogant. S ilver is
like a b eau tifu l w o m a n that
w an ts to em brace y o u ,” he says.
“ I k n o w it soun ds like B S , bu t
it’s n o t B S to m e. S ilver is like
th e m oon: E v e r y th in g under the
m oon ligh t lo o k s b ea u tifu l.”
-A N D R E W Z O E L E N E R
m a c f 0 U n d .o r g / f e ll 0 W S /2 O I I
A n d r e w Z o e l l n e r i s
A m e r i c a n
C
r a f t
’s a s s is t a n t e d ito r .
T N / M em p h is
M e ta l M u se u m
A lc h e m y
M a r. 9 - Jun. 3
m etalm useum .org
S p on so red b y th e E n am elist
S o c ie ty , this s h o w com bin es
tw o ju ried exh ib ition s: th e 13th
B ien n ial In tern atio n al Juried
E nam el E xh ib itio n and the ninth
In tern atio n al Ju ried S tu d en t
E n am el E x h ib itio n . T h e form er
features the b e st con tem p o rary
enam el w o r k fro m the past tw o
yea rs, such as
Joan S tro tt-
A lv in i’s
L a C u c a r a c h a
(right); the latter
includes pieces from
em erging artists w h o
d em on strate style and skill.
T X / H o u sto n
M u s e u m o f F in e A r t s , H o u sto n
S h i f t i n g P a r a d ig m s i n C o n te m p o -
r a r y C e r a m ic s : T h e G a r t h C l a r k
a n d M a r k D e l V e c c h io C o lle c t io n
M ar. 4 -J u n . 3
m fah.org
F o llo w in g tw o con cep tu al
n arratives - ve ssel and scu lp -
ture - the exh ib itio n sh o w s the
e vo lu tio n o f p o s t-W o r ld W a r II
ceram ics, w ith n early 200 p ieces
from th e C la r k -D e l V e c c h io
co llectio n . Im p o rtan t w o r k
from m asters, em ergin g artists,
and fam ous n o n -cla y artists,
such as C la es O ld e n b u rg,
is on d isplay.
Top right:
Dixie Cup, 1980
silver, gilding
4
x
4-75
x Sin-
Right:
Coffee or tea service,
1984; ebony, ivory,
silver, plexiglass
33.5 in. (tray length)
022 american craft feb/mari2
W A / B elle vu e
B e lle v u e A r t s M u se u m
K n i t t e d , K n o t t e d , T w i s t e d
& T w in e d : T h e J e w e lr y o f
M a r y L e e H u
F e b . 7 -J u n . 17
b ellevu ea rts.o rg
T h is re tro sp ective displays
the e vo lu tio n o f H u ’s in tricate
w o v e n go ld w o r k from the
1960s to to d a y. C o n scio u s o f
the in teractio n o f ligh t and
re fle ctive surfaces, H u crafts
e xq u isite je w e lr y th at m oves
and responds to th e w earer.
Portrait: Courtesy of the John D. & Catherine T. M acArthur Foundation / Vitali object photos (2): Gene Young, collection of the Newark Museum /
C u caracha
photo: Anthony Alvini
