Construction Site investigates the challenges faced by migrants settling in a new land, using the stories of Viviane Rombaldi Seppey’s grandfather to trace narratives of migration. At the turn of the 20th century, aged fifteen, her grandfather left Italy on foot to find work in Switzerland, working on construction sites along the way.

Construction Site encompasses a paper-based installations and artist’s books, featuring work based on migratory experience, using the concept of home construction as the point of departure for this collection of work.


Artist

Viviane Rombaldi Seppey is a New York based multimedia artist working in drawing, artist’s books, painting and installation. Her work is informed by her family history and migratory experiences and is woven into personal and social narratives to explore ideas of place, identity and memory. Rombaldi Seppey holds a BFA from National Art School in Sydney, Australia and a MFA from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Australia.

She has received support through numerous residencies and fellowships including the Lower East Side Printshop, Bundanon Trust in Australia, MASS MoCA, North Adams, MA, Banff Center for Arts and Creativity in Canada, Ucross Foundation in Wyoming. She was a AIM, (Artist in the Marketplace) participant. Rombaldi Seppey has exhibited her work internationally including in the USA the Museum of Contemporary Art, North Miami, FL; the Bronx Museum of the Arts, NY; the Hunterdon Art Museum, Carriage House at the Islip Art Museum, John Jay College, Walsh Gallery at Seton Hall University and New York Institute of Technology and Rutgers University. In New York she had solo shows at Smack Mellon, the Kentler International Drawing Space, Summit Art Center, NJ, and at Wave Hill, the Sunroom Project Space Program.

Exhibition Checklist:

  • Homes, 2018
    Cardboard, mulberry paper and map in 16 x 21 inch box
    Installation size variable
    Edition of 3

  • One Stitch at the Time, 2018
    15 page artist’s book: thread, paper, fabric, saddle stitch binding
    12 x 9 inches
    Unique

  • Home Work, 2018
    17 page, saddle stitched artist’s book of handmade paper with thread, pencil, and eraser in cardboard box
    7.5 x 10.5 x 1.5 inches
    unique

  • Passage, 2018
    Swiss topographic map, thread
    7.5 x 14 x 5 inches
    Unique

  • Layered Horizon, 2018
    Swiss topographic map, thread
    5 x 7 x 1 inches
    Unique

  • Way Home, 2018
    15 saddle stitched artist’s books: maps, thread, metal needle and laser cut cardboard box
    192 x 48 inches installed
    Edition of 5

Exhibition Views

Construction Site (installation view) at Center for Book Arts, 2020.
Homes (2018) Cardboard, mulberry paper and map in 16 x 21 inch box Installation size variable
Homes (detail), 2018 Cardboard, mulberry paper and map in 16 x 21 inch box Installation size variable
artist's book resembling a carpenters plumb sits inside a box
Way Home (detail), 2018 15 saddle stitched artist's books: maps, thread, metal needle and laser cut cardboard box 192 x 48 inches installed Edition of 5
One Stitch at the Time, 2018 15 page artist's book: thread, paper, fabric, saddle stitch binding 12 x 9 inches Unique
two books and a box sit on a black pedestal between two doors
Home Work, 2018 17 page, saddle stitched artist's book of handmade paper with thread, pencil, and eraser in cardboard box 7.5 x 10.5 x 1.5 inches unique
Fabric artist's book rests on top of a linen bag with the words "one stitch at the time" embroidered on
Home Work, 2018 17 page, saddle stitched artist's book of handmade paper with thread, pencil, and eraser in cardboard box 7.5 x 10.5 x 1.5 inches unique
altered map
Passage, 2018 Swiss topographic map, thread 7.5 x 14 x 5 inches Unique
Layered Horizon, 2018 Swiss topographic map, thread 5 x 7 x 1 inches Unique
Installation of artwork that resembles a stavk of bricks and hanging plumb lines
Way Home, 2018 15 saddle stitched artist's books: maps, thread, metal needle and laser cut cardboard box 192 x 48 inches installed Edition of 5
Installation of Viviane Rombaldi Seppey's artwork Way Home, a series of plumb-like books hanging from the wall
Way Home, 2018 15 saddle stitched artist's books: maps, thread, metal needle and laser cut cardboard box 192 x 48 inches installed Edition of 5
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