The Vega Brothers

Enrique Vega (1952-2018) once operated a thriving metal studio on the other side of Jordan Lake. He was the founder of the ArtMetal Project--a vast online resource in the early days of Internet "portals."

Enrique was a mentor of mine.

He was generous with guidance, equipment, and even consumables. He once loaded me up with coal from his pile so that I could have something for my children's Christmas stockings.

After one of his collaborative workshops, he gave me this untitled piece, that has long been part of the Art Walk @ The Plant.

According to his kids it was the work of blacksmiths from multiple states that he did in the early nineties after procuring a Nazel 2B crazy big power hammer.

Enrique was a hammerhead. His Nazel 2B could "Shmoosh" big steel.

A couple of years after he died, I met his daughter, Selbe Bartlett, who was active in the Chatham Arts Council. Selbe gave me an untitled cherub from her collection that has bemused many Plant visitors over the years. It appears Enrique was playing around with gender fluidity long before it became fashionable:

Enrique's little brother Francis Vega (1959-2013) was also a renowned metal artist. He operated a shop near Durham Central Park called Vega Metals--that he started with Enrique.

Vega Metals sold its "retail side" to employees, who launched Cricket Forge, which produced garden art--famous for their Butterfly Bench.

In 2017 Vega Metals installed this piece at Powell Place in Pittsboro. Presumably it was purchased by East West Partners, the company that did that development.

In 2023 a condominium tower rose from the earth next to Durham Central park called "The Vega."

I met Francis on several occasions during my time as a metal sculptor in Chatham County. I remember his fiery Cuban temper.

Enrique and Francis started Vega Metals in 1980. 45 years later, we take a swing at cataloging their work...