Vivian Cavalieri

Year of birth: 1956.
Where do you live: Washington, DC (though my studio is on Chincoteague Island, Virginia).
Your education:
New York University School of Law, New York, NY, USA (1981).
Harvard University, BA (Fine Arts), Cambridge, MA, USA (1978).
Describe your art in three words: Conceptual mixed-media assemblages.
Your discipline: Mixed media.
Website | Instagram

Your artworks often address complex global issues like immigration, climate change, and social justice. What inspired you to use miniature three-dimensional scenes as the medium for these topics?

My choice of presentation reflects two aspects of my personality — shyness and a need to find order in chaos. More inclined to whisper than to shout, I encourage viewers to approach by creating small-scale, attractive works that trigger a conversation. Often overwhelmed by the topics themselves, I seek to reduce each issue to its essentials, raising awareness and leaving viewers to decide how to respond.

How has your Venetian heritage influenced your choice of palette and design in your artworks?

Venetian style is ornate and ebullient, featuring blues, greens, amber, red, rose, and gold. Instinctively, I tend towards that color palette, and the high-quality components in my designs contribute to a sense of opulence and joy notwithstanding the highly structured nature of my assemblages.

Vivian Cavalieri | Transformations (from Bibendum to the Michelin Man) | 2022

You often incorporate pieces of your handmade jewelry into your scenes. Could you share the significance of this element in your work?

For 10 years, I designed ornate necklaces reminiscent of the Venetian “torsades” — numerous strands of tiny, identical Murano glass beads that, when twisted, reflect light and make the eye dance. My necklaces, while incorporating a broad range of other components, create much the same effect — sparkling and emitting a joyful vitality. Wishing to confer meaning into objects created solely for their beauty, I decided to include them in the conceptual assemblages I began creating. Their presence contributes to the attractiveness of the overall scene — which draws in viewers — and starkly contrasts with the commercially manufactured items that dominate many scenes, essentially enabling me to insert a piece of myself.

Can you tell us about the process of selecting dollhouse miniatures, fabrics, and other objects for your assemblages? How do you ensure they carry personal and symbolic meaning?

I start with a theme which inspires the palette and selection of objects. For example, with “Born Free,” I wanted to raise awareness of the crib-to-prison pipeline that traps so many young Black males. I developed an overall design — a nursery scene in which a crib with protective slats contrasts with bars intended to confine rather than to protect. Reviewing my large inventory of dollhouse miniatures, I selected a gold birdcage. I chose fabrics and soft colors commonly found in a nursery to create an overall sense of warmth and security. But I included a subversive detail — the door of the empty birdcage is glued open and the inhabitant nowhere in sight.

Vivian Cavalieri | The Misguided Coyote | 2023

How do you strike a balance between inviting dialogue and avoiding a didactic tone in your work?

To soften my voice without softening my message, I rely on symbolism (as previously mentioned regarding “Born Free”) and humor, as in “The Misguided Coyote.” There, puzzled dogs look on at a coyote baying at a streetlamp rather than at the nearby moon. The work addresses serious themes — light pollution and the destruction of habitat that forces forest animals into urban areas — but it does so with a light touch. The small-scale nature of my work also contributes by encouraging viewers to approach just as a whisper would.

What challenges do you face when transitioning from small-scale assemblages to immersive installations?

Each conversion has its own challenges based on the installation size and the desired impact. For example, I wanted to convert “The Diner (Coming to America)” into a life-size diner where visitors can record their own immigration stories. Deciding that I wanted a perfect reproduction of the scene, I turned to a fabricator familiar with theater set design. My desire for a set that could be deconstructed and shipped from one location to another required certain adjustments such as reducing the desired height by several feet. I am now seeking advice from an audio/visual expert on how to record and retain visitors’ stories as well as legal advice on compliance with the laws on accessibility. Once these mechanics are settled, I plan to search for an appropriate site for the installation.

I faced very different challenges in converting “Staycation” into an installation. While I may eventually create a larger installation, at present I am redesigning the artwork to be placed atop a 9-inch cube of ice in an 18-inch cubed glass aquarium where, as the ice melts, the water level rises and eventually approaches a polar bear. Intending the piece to be used multiple times, my first concern was what to use as a base. It had to fit within the aquarium, sink evenly as the ice melted, be wrapped in fabric, and survive repeated use. Following the advice of a carpenter, I decided to use cedar (which doesn’t buckle when submerged) and weighed it down with stones to counteract the tendency of wood to float. I next sought a fabric similar in color and texture to the one used in the assemblage that, once sewn to resemble waves, would retain its color and shape despite repeated submersions in water. Having wrapped the base in the fabric and attached the polar bear, I calculated the time it took for 9 inches of water to freeze in that sized aquarium. I placed the completed base on top of the block of ice and am currently calculating the time it will take for that block of ice to melt.

Vivian Cavalieri | War & Peace (Strings)

Your work often involves references from multiple cultures due to your international upbringing. Can you provide an example of how this has shaped one of your recent pieces?

Growing up exposed to a variety of languages and art forms — primarily European and Chinese — I instinctively select items that suit a given artwork without considering their origin. References are often subtle: a French game board in “The Raven (Nevermore),” a Chinese painting in “Nature vs. Art — The Striped Tulip,” paintings by British and French artists in “Civilized Dogs,” a classic Italian painting in “Be Still My Heart,” a chair designed by a Scottish architect and designer in “Nature Inside and Out,” and a French poster and a chair by an Irish designer in “Transformations (from Bibendum to The Michelin Man).”