MASTER METALSMITH
JAMES VISTE
LET ME TELL YOU A STORY
OCT. 5, 2025 – FEB. 1, 2026
Keeler and Gasparrini Galleries
Lily’s Stump, 2009. Die forged and fabricated steel, copper, patina. Courtesy of the Artist. Photograph courtesy of Houston Cofield
“The "tender eye" is not merely an observer’s gaze, but an empathic faculty — one that doesn’t
just see what is, but also what it means.”
–– Michael Gayk on Lily’s Stump
We are honored to recognize James Viste as the 39th Master Metalsmith. In his exhibition, Let Me Tell You a Story, a theme inspired by a phrase he often used during his years of teaching, Viste explores storytelling through both the creative process and through the finished works themselves. In his sculptural vessels, viewers will find anecdotes, memories, humor, and whimsy. Viste’s vibrant forms explore surface embellishment through a variety of texturing methods, proving that innovation always remains to be discovered in smithing techniques from the past. Viste’s exhibition is a reminder of the intricate relationship between material, smith, and forge that awaits a thoughtful audience.
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Arcwave of Scutes (detail), 2017. Die forged and fabricated steel, patina. Courtesy of Mike and Zoe Marshall. Photograph courtesy of Houston Cofield.
“Every object’s actual past is its own secret. Their past is silent unless someone remembers it. Antique shops, basements, garages, toolboxes and galleries are full of these quiet stories.”
–– James Viste
“Objects “speak” to those who see them — that moment when a person connects with an object is when two stories meet. For some it might end there, for others, those stories coincide... their pasts become present. That coincidence may cause a pause for thought, a deep connection or become ships passing in the night. It might revive a memory or create a new one... Stories scratched in stone and clay, written on paper, forged in metal, evidence of material means...
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Every object has a story. As long as it exists... its story has no ending.”
–– James Viste
EXPLORE JAMES VISTE'S WORK
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Shrine (to corn rust), 2005. Die forged and fabricated steel, copper, tin, patina. Courtesy of John F. Korachis. Photograph courtesy of Houston Cofield.
James Viste was raised on a farm in Wisconsin. He received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and a Master of Fine Arts degree from Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. He is a nationally known blacksmithing demonstrator and exhibitor and has participated in several national Ironwork Restoration Projects, including at Cranbrook Educational Community, The Charles Lang Freer House, and The Detroit Institute of Arts. He has worked for studios in Minnesota, Wisconsin, New Mexico, and Michigan. Viste is the Manager of Edgewise Forge LLC in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin.