Dominique Vitali is a multidisciplinary artist specializing in embroidery and printmaking. Her work focuses on her personal experiences living within the confines of a female body, exploring sexuality, religion, and body image. The shared narratives of childbirth, menstruation, dysmorphia, sexual violation, and societal scrutiny all come into play and find connections with the viewers in their shared commonality. Catholicism—its pageantry, its patriarchy, and the tightrope walk between madness and mysticism—has factored heavily into much of her imagery. The stories depicted are deeply personal and, filtered through the lens of a woman, inherently political.
Vitali’s canvas of choice for her embroidered narratives is vintage lingerie, with its inherently sexual, incredibly personal, pre-existing histories. She finds it an interesting juxtaposition to tell her stories using a skill so entwined in feminine piety, all upon a canvas that is historically sexual in both its iconography (simultaneously enhancing and masking sexuality) as well as its proximity to the previous owner’s flesh. Vitali’s work in this medium plays with the aesthetic contrast between unexpected, bold imagery and delicate, utilitarian garments, oftentimes venturing unashamedly into deeply intimate subject matter.
With her works on paper, Vitali is currently immersed in an ongoing series of large-scale monoprints that explore the narratives of various women, both fictional and non-fictional, whose stories have captivated her in the shift that occurs when re-imagined through a more contemporary female lens. Her hope is to find her own truths through literally reconstructing disjointed pieces of prints and stitching them together, re-forming her own interpretations of the stories.
Vitali currently lives and works in the New York area, and has shown in galleries both in the U.S. and abroad. Recent highlights include a printmaking residency in Venice, Italy at Studio Fallani, and inclusion in the esteemed North American Printmaking Biennial.
Self-taught or art school?
Art school. I started attending the Art Students’ League in NY when I was in 8th grade for about 5 years, and then went to the NY Academy of Art the summer of my junior year in high school. I then attended the Rhode Island School of Design, majoring in illustration. But having parents who are both artists meant that I was constantly surrounded by and learning about art for my entire childhood.
If you could own one work of art what would it be?
That is a really hard question. I would say anything by Egon Schiele. He was a pivotal discovery for me – his wandering line, the boldness of colour and subject matter…he had a profound influence on me and on my work and when I see his art in person it moves me to tears.
How would you describe your style?
I think my work has the boldness and darkness of expressionism, but because it is so rooted in the story I lean heavily into a more figurative style because I need that delicacy of line.
Can you tell us about your artistic process?
I am not a scholar, but I am a curious person. I read and study and try to constantly follow paths of information and story that intrigue me…and that is how I find my subject matter. Things fall across my path that I need to learn more about, that affect me on an emotional level. For my printmaking, my latest series is about the stories of different women and how the narrative shifts when you look at it with a more modern perspective. The different stories have fallen into my lap, whether through hearsay, reading about something totally unrelated, even hearing a name mentioned in a podcast! It’s not like I have a textbook, or a list somewhere – it’s all very organic. For my embroidery, the object pretty much dictates the subject matter. I collect vintage linens and lingerie for my artwork, and when I’m ready to stitch I leave the article of cloth out on a table for a while and just walk by it, glance at it, think about it, let it stew in my head. I look at anatomy books, botany books, medical journals, and then slowly the image rises up and I start stitching!
Is narrative important in your art?
Absolutely! Especially with my printmaking. The story is what drives my choice of image and my choice of the subject matter.
Who are your favourite artists and why?
My absolute favourite living artist is Kiki Smith. I feel like we exist in the same existential plane – her work speaks to me on such a visceral level. I love everything about it – the subject matter, the femininity, the softness, the wide variety of media that she works within, the storytelling, the playfulness, the seriousness. She manages to be soft and powerful at the same time. My absolute favourite deceased artist is Egon Schiele as I mentioned before. He opened my eyes to a whole new way of making marks.
Where’s your studio and what’s it like?
My studio is in my basement. I have a small tabletop press, and work on a large folding table about 4 feet from our washer and dryer!
Do you have studio rituals?
Not really. I have an order that I prep my space and materials etc for my printmaking, and I listen to music or podcasts while I work, but no spiritual dances or prayers!
What are you working on currently?
Right now I am working on a series called Her Story – they are large-scale monoprints, combining drypoint, chine colle and sometimes gold leaf and watercolour. The pieces are created by stitching smaller images together – each small print is created to stand on its own aesthetically and compositionally, but then when pieced together they reveal the whole story and the image in its entirety. The series examines the narratives of different women, both fictional and non-fictional, and the shift that occurs when their story is re-examined through a more contemporary female lens.
Where can we buy your art?
My art is available for sale on the SaatchiArt website.
https://www.saatchiart.com/domvitali
