Vivian Cavalieri
Artist Bio
Vivian Cavalieri is a self-taught conceptual artist. Raised primarily in Manhattan, she spent her childhood summers in Venice, where her father had been raised. Her sense of style and her palette reflect those summers.
Loving art, Cavalieri majored in art history while at Harvard University. Concluding that she lacked artistic talent because she was unable to paint or draw well, she decided to attend the New York University School of Law. Cavalieri spent the next 20 years representing nonprofits, including art museums and universities, with firms in New York and Washington, DC. The effect of so many years spent imposing order on chaos is reflected in her highly structured art.
Cavalieri spent the next ten years designing ornate multi-strand necklaces. Instinctively, her designs mirrored the opulent and ebullient Venetian style. She worked with an eclectic mix of beads — amber, abalone, shell, semiprecious stones, freshwater pearls, and in memory of her father, at least one Murano glass bead in each necklace.
More recently, Cavalieri began reflecting on the random acts of birth and circumstances that had surfaced during her life. She sought to give meaning to the necklaces she had designed merely as objects of beauty and began using segments in symbolic miniature scenes that highlight societal issues.
She crafts them in her studio overlooking her family oyster farm in Chincoteague, a remote island on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
Within one year, Cavalieri’s works have appeared in over 30 juried exhibitions. A documentary about one such exhibit — WOVEN France 2023 — is currently being edited by French filmmaker Lara Laigneau. The trailer can be seen at https://www.instagram.com/p/Cx72N5TtpyI/)