To offer some detail, the House to Watch the Sunset (2005) has three floors, each with its own outside staircase. “The purpose of the structure invokes the 18th-century romantic sublime notion of allowing oneself to be totally absorbed within nature. To build a house whose sole function is to watch the sunset, the spectator moving from one level to the other with the changing height of the sunset, is poetic and transcendental. Furthermore, there exist ancient influences informing House to Watch the Sunset. The concept of the house, in contrast with the sophisticated minimalist form, is archaic and pagan in its almost worshipful dedication to nature, of the sun in particular,“ writes Alma Zevi.
Vital explores the potential of different materials, people, and places around the world. His curiosity for the world can be observed in particular periods throughout his career: he has spent time with third-generation Venetian glass blowers in Murano, Tuareg silversmiths in Niger, and papermakers in Bhutan. The juxtapositions found in relation to different places stimulate Vital's intense need to experiment with materials (conventional or otherwise) and new artistic practices and to see how other cultures create objects. Currently he is based in Beijing, China.
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