I think if you grow up in a surrounding where you have snow for six months of the year, your eyes are naturally sensitive to white. Then, when the snow melts, the mountains turn grey. The canton where I grew up is called The Grisons, probably something to do with the color grey. So I became accustomed to these nuances in grey and white and not so much color. Even now, my favorite material is plaster… – Not Vital
Not Vital’s work defies categorization. Vital uses a variety media and addresses a variety of subjects, though a fascination with the natural world remains constant. Animal, plant, and landscape forms find their way into his work, often through exquisitely beautiful materials shaped through processes the artist has discovered on his extensive travels. Clouds makes use of Dali stone marble, a material unique to Southern China that is known for exquisite patterns and colors that evoke objects in nature. Vital embeds these stones in plaster forms that serve as both frames and containers, allowing the stones to exist as both ethereal nature ‘paintings’ and sculptural objects. Vital’s work has been the subject of solo exhibitions around the world and is included in the collections of Dallas Museum of Art; MoMA, New York; Guggenheim Museum, New York; The Brooklyn Museum; Musee d’Art et Histoire, Geneva; Kunstmuseum St. Gallen; Kunstmuseum Luzern; Museum der Moderne, Salzburg; and The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford, among others. Vital (a particularly nomadic artist) lives and works in Switzerland, China, Niger, the US, and Chile.Museum of Modern Art, NYC, New York, USA The Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, New York, USA Guggenheim Museum, NYC, New York, USA Carnegie Institute, Pittsburg, PA, USA Musee d’Art et Histoire, Geneva, Switzerland