VCR

Brateiu, Romania

Victor Clopotar, coppersmith / Brateiu Romania with

Nadja Zerunian, Gilles Massé  and Andrei Georgescu,

Pauline Thurn und Taxis  photography

Mark Glassner product photography

Romanian coppersmith Victor Clopotar launches his brand VCR at Homo Faber in Venice, the major exhibition dedicated to the very best in European craftsmanship.

Victor Clopotar is a ‘calderar’, a traditional Romanian coppersmith. It’s a dying art, and Victor is one of few left. He learned how to forge trays, pitchers and stills from his ancestors and hopes that his son will one day take his place. After all, "people die, but they don't vanish into thin air, they leave something behind for the next generations," says the 37-year-old.

Victor has been working with co/rizom to transform his products. In the beginning, traditional pieces were stripped of their rustic elements, but through his skill, many common ideas soon materialised. "His talent is phenomenal - not only his three-dimensional imagination, but also his unconditional accuracy."

As he sits down to work, Victor pushes the limits of his own skill. A copper sheet has warmed over the fire, and with hammer and anvil, he will transform it into a bulbous, softly curved object. Again and again he will bring his workpiece back to the fire to make it "malleable like clay". This process may have to be repeated up to 70 times, because much of what Victor makes takes thousands of strokes to become what he considers finished.

Victor Clopotar launches his brand VCR at Homo Faber in Venice in April 2022, the major exhibition dedicated to the very best in European craftsmanship. TEZAUR is VCR's initial collection and was created to emphasise the distinct identity of a master of his craft. The collection will be distributed through the co/rizom sales network. VCR's next collection will launch at Design MIami Basel  'Golden Age' edition in June 2022.

VICTOR CLOPOTAR

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