Charleston Harbor the night H L Hunley sank the Housatonic
5' H x 20' W
USS Housatonic
Charleston Harbor the night H L Hunley sank the Housatonic
5' H x 20' W
USS
Housatonic
Alexander “Lex” Melfi was born and raised in Summerville, South Carolina. He comes from a large family with deep roots in the Italian-American and Irish- American communities of the LowCountry. His Melfi ancestors settled in Charleston in 1847. Instilled with a strong work ethic by his parents, he went to work with his father as a plumber. Lex then became a structural ironworker and boilermaker rigger. From his youth he also had a passion for the outdoors and loved the travel opportunities his jobs gave to him. However, the plumber’s and ironworker’s professions hindered his ability to experience life to its fullest potential; that is, the life of an artist. He moved to Carmel, California, and was exposed to that city’s rich community of artists and craftsmen. In addition, the natural beauty of the California coast and its abundant forest and marine life captured his attention. He was moved by works of art and natural beauty so different from the LowCountry but did not realize that he was nurturing his own artistic visions.
Lex then lived and worked in Miami, Florida, as a glazier. One day he was
sent to a tempering plant to retrieve a section of tempered glass. While
there he noticed another work truck that was loaded with a work of “Sand
Carved Glass.” The beauty of the work overwhelmed him. Although he did not
know what the art was called or how it was created, he realized in an
instant, “This is what I want to do for the rest of my life. These are the
works of art I want to create.”
With much determination Lex found a mentor willing to teach him how to carve
glass in the way that had inspired him. Within a few hours of starting to
work with Lex, his instructor realized that his apprentice possessed the
physical dexterity and artist’s eye that enabled him to create works of
beauty and usefulness. Lex worked with his mentor to hone his skills and
then returned to his birthplace, Summerville, after making a promise to his
instructor that he would keep secret his master’s sand-carving techniques.
In Summerville, Lex established his studio and his company, Treasure the
View.”
What distinguishes Lex’s works from that of other artists who etch images
into glass is his use of sand, driven by high-pressure air to carve his
images deeply into thick sheets of glass. Carved at varying depths into the
glass, the images are sharply three-dimensional. They can also be side-lit
to enhance their volume in the eye of the beholder. A painstaking,
physically-demanding art, sand-carving presents great challenges to the artist. Works can suffer irreparable damage
in an instant; but, the art that results from sand-carving glass is truly
unique.
For the past twenty years he has created commissioned works of monumental
size as well as sand-carved artworks for retail sale. His commissions for
churches, local governments, and individuals are among his largest and most
complex works; and he is justly recognized to be a unique artist working in
a unique medium.
Twenty three years ago one of Lex’s first commissions was to create
life-sized panels that depicted the four Evangelists or Gospel writers,
Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and the archangels Gabriel and Michael
for the columbarium and bell tower of the Episcopal Grace Church Cathedral
in Charleston.
In recent years he created a life-size sculpture of the Theotokos (Blessed Virgin Mary and her son Jesus) for the Greek Orthodox Church of the Holy Trinity, Charleston. This outdoor sculpture is protected by a gazebo in the church’s Theotokos Garden. Perhaps his largest work of art is his depiction of the February 17, 1864, attack upon the USS Housatonic by the H.S. Hunley submarine in Charleston Harbor. Measuring five feet in height and twenty feet in length, the massive sculpture is on display at the Naval Weapons Station, Goose Creek, SC.
Lex Melfi was also
for two years the sole holder of a license to reproduce in sand-carved glass
the artistic works of the famed marine-life painter Guy Harvey.
Lex’s love of the outdoors and the sea inspired him spend a year sailing
from San Luis Obispo, California, through the Panama Canal to Miami,
Florida. During the trip he studied the marine life of the Pacific and
Atlantic oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. These experiences have led him to
create some true masterpieces that depict marine life within their natural
habitats. He has traveled to Mexico City to visit the Museum of Anthropology
and has studied the architecture and culture of the Mayan and Aztec
civilizations of Central America.
Using his active imagination and sharpening his technical skills as an
illustrator and sculptor, Lex has incorporated innovations in lighting to
depict ever-increasing detail and methods of display of his works.
What distinguishes Lex’s work is his relentless pursuit of accuracy and his willingness to take on large, complex commissions even as he creates affordable smaller works for public sale.
Grace Memorial Bridge in
Charleston, South Carolina USA
5' H x 16' W
1.524 x 4.826 m
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