Pay a visit to The American Museum of Fly Fishing in Manchester VT, and you’ll happen across a truly unique installation. “On Turbulence & Flow” is the creative genius of Val Kropiwnicki and Renato Vitalini, featuring a rod and reel combo inspired by one of the greatest artists of the 20th century, Piet Mondrian.
Val tells the story of how the Mondrian combo came to be…
Color schemes and linear/shape compositions inspired by the artworks of Dutch painter Piet Mondrian are themes that I frequently explore in the various mediums I work in. So back in the fall of 2020, as I was finishing the last reels in my VK-S5.RF series I knew that I wanted to take 3 reels and have them anodized in red, yellow, blue and black to pay homage to the Dutch painter. I also envisioned that I would make one off fly rods to go along each reel.
While I was researching rod manufacturers I came upon CTS blanks online. I was enamored by the color selections available, and I noticed nothing but positive reviews of your product, so I reached out to you in November, 2020 to talk about my ideas.
Your answer to my then question no.2 was what I needed to hear. I asked simply, “would it be possible to order different color sections for a single rod?” Your answer – Yes.
As time moved forward, and as was typical for this project, the details, realities and magnitude of trying to produce a series of one of a kind fly reels set in and the idea of me making rods just didn’t fit into my schedule. The 3 reels however were anodized and the Mondrian inspired vision I had for them fully realized.
Moving forward it was about 6 months later that I had started to see fly rods appear in my social media feeds that piqued my interest and almost a year to the day after I contacted you I sent an email off to a gentleman from Switzerland named Renato. In Renato’s initial reply back to me he stated that he had seen my reels online and that he, too, had thought about reaching out to me to see if I was interested in collaborating. I took this as a good sign!
As Renato and I continued our conversation on the project we worked through the slight language barrier and 6 hour time difference to find a mutual concern for music, modern furniture, design, craftsmanship and the need to push borders.
The “Mondi” project specifications – 3 rod/reel combos:
- Each butt section would be white.
- The remaining 3 sections for each rod would be different configurations of red/yellow/blue with the tip section matching the frame color of the reel – red for the 6/7WT spey, yellow on the 2/3 WT trout spey, and blue on the 5 WT glass.
- The rod tube for each combo would also match the tip/reel frame color and all seats and guides would be black.
With all this in mind, Renato would work his magic. The end results were stunning! The 3 rod/reel combinations are each unique, there will only ever be one of each.
Val Kropiwnicki
https://vksteelworks.com/
Located in Branford, Connecticut, Val Kropiwnicki creates one of a kind sculpture, furniture, flatwork and fly fishing related artwork. His work has been featured in The Flyfish Journal, The Drake, and Gray’s Sporting Journal as well as through various online media outlets. When not building he shares time between his wife, two sons, and chasing fish.
Renato Vitalini
https://v-stickflyrods.com
Fly fisherman, rod builder and hotelier – Renato Vitalini is one of the most passionate and creative rod builders on the planet. He builds rods from a workshop opening up to beautiful Swiss mountain vistas in the picture perfect town of Scuol, Switzerland. Each carefully crafted rod is tailored to the unique needs of his customer, with striking colour designs and exquisite cork handles his signature aesthetic.
View Renato’s beautiful creations on his Instagram account, Facebook Page or Website.
