Stained Glass, Pop Icons

Joseph Cavalieri makes stained glass as you've probably never seen it – celebrating not saints and virtues but rather pop culture. We caught up with him on a residency in Italy, where he's given his signature work a decidedly Italian flavor.

1. Aside from the fact that you are in Italy, what led you to make stained glass out of images of Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida, and other midcentury Italian pop icons?

These pieces are a continuation of a portrait series currently hanging at Elmo, a Manhattan restaurant, and for sale through Duane Reed Gallery.

In 2011 I adapted the concept of using portraits, but gave it an Italian twist for my application to be a resident at the Lo Studio dei Nipoti in the Calabria region of Italy. I was accepted to the residency here in this medieval hilltop town named Monasterace; it is a perfect match, making stained glass art in a medieval town.

Artists probably don't often speak much to American Craft about the "m" word, but money was a major motivating factor in creating this series, named L'era Prima Del Lifting. (The English translation is something like "Before Botox.") This residency had a lot going for it – in particular, a great location in a country of my roots. But residents are required to foot the bill for airfare, supplies, and food. To cover these expenses I decided to produce work to sell, and to make it portable so it can be easily transported back home. I have created 20 portraits that amount to miniature glass posters.

I know my clients in New York very well, but predicting the kind of art that Italians would want to buy was difficult. To date, I have sold five pieces to locals. 

My studio was set up in the castle here. I quickly had work on the walls, making the space into a gallery/workshop, and always had my promotional flier to show. One guest seriously looked at the promo and requested a commission in line with my Simpsons work. We named this piece Lord Bart in Monasterace, and it shows an extra-large Bart Simpson leaning against the town castle, with landmarks from the architecture of the town. The piece was very popular with locals visiting my studio.

Weeks later another visitor saw the finished Simpsons panel and asked me to do a commission. It’s a good way of covering my expenses and to create larger works that will stay here in Italy.

2. There is a jarring incongruity between stained glass, traditionally associated with houses of worship, and the images you use, such as the Simpsons. What do you like about that incongruity?

I have been working on this series since 2009, and some people say it is sacrilegious. I come from a graphic design background, and use the skills I learned art directing at magazines in New York in my glass work. This includes mixing elements in an unexpected way, but it is done with a purpose. I have been crossing elements in my work for so long, I find it perfectly natural to see Bart and Lisa and R. Crumb illustrations in stained glass.

What is most important is it still excites me to work on design projects that I love. The fact that it is made of glass is not as important as the message of the work.

I have had many reactions to my work. When I completed my very first Simpsons panel, my frame maker Robert Shapiro stopped over to deliver the frame for it. He was the very first person to see the finished panel and immediately said, "You are going straight to Hell!" I had never gotten a reaction like that! At that moment, I vowed to continue the series. The most heartfelt compliment I've had is from a commission I made based on the Gormenghast series of novels. My client tells me he sits in front of the work with his morning coffee, switches it on, and totally loves looking at it everyday.
 
3. What are you working on in your current residency?
I am working on a commission for a local gentleman. It is more serious than the Simpsons commission and is based his friend, Andrea Ruga. He asked me to make this work to commemorate their friendship. Mr. Ruga passed away in 2011.
 
I am also organizing seven teaching gigs in the United States, one in Greece, and an art exhibition at Gallery North on Long Island.
 
4. Tell us about a couple of artists whose work you admire.
These works I have made here in Italy are very poster-like, inspired by the album covers for the German group Kraftwerk. I also am inspired by the graphic design works of Paula Scher.

5. Is there anything else we should know about your work?
I show through the Duane Reed gallery. I am working on a piece for a museum in New York that combines acid-etched copper with my glass, something new for me that I learned at a teachers’ retreat at Penland School of Crafts last summer.

Joseph Cavalieri is an artist and educator based in New York.