Artists with Disabilities Thrive at Pittsburgh’s VaultArt Studio
Meet Maggie Kambic, an artist at VaultArt Studio who works in fabric, sculpture and painting. I’m partial to her geometric paintings since they resemble my hilly Brentwood neighborhood, where rows upon rows of houses appear to be stacked upon each other.
Mixed-media artist Maggie Kambic shows her sculpture of a fantastical creature.
The studio is located in an old bank at 5100 Penn Avenue in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. I called ahead to make sure they were open, and Studio Manager Steph Neary said yes, but it’s a working day as they’re conducting portfolio reviews. I’m welcome to come and sit in while they each show a piece of their current art while revisiting their earlier work. How exciting!
I have no trouble finding the gallery, and on-street parking is plentiful. As I walk through the doors, I see walls full of colorful works, from a stylized skateboard to portraits. The long, folding tables are covered in paint.
The artists are gathered in the center of the large space. It’s Maggie’s turn, and Lead Studio Facilitator Sam Berner pulls up her older work on screen. They discuss what worked, where growth occurred, and what Maggie wants to work on next.
He and Maggie are studying fabric art she created almost 10 years ago. “You made those fabric circles and they did well, all of them sold,” says Sam, a ceramic artist, as her fabric art appears on the screen. She combined the circles into larger, concentric designs of various shapes and sizes.
Maggie has grown as an artist since then, branching into sculpture and painting, but thinks maybe she will create some more fabric art since it is popular with customers.
“I like the money,” she says, rubbing her thumb and first two fingers together. Like all the artists at VaultArt, she keeps 100% of the proceeds from the sale of her work.
Next, Maggie and Sam review some of her sculptures. Her earliest didn’t always resemble what they were called, and she laughs along with her fellow artists. But it’s easy to see how far she’s come when more recent ones are reviewed, such as a hippo that is reminiscent of Moo Deng, the baby pygmy hippo that flooded news feeds a couple of years ago.
Growing in Their Craft
Lee Kennedy holds his recent work, which contains images of celebrities, everyday people and characters such as Santa Claus.
Another of the artists attending the portfolio review is Charlie Wallace, whose new exhibit, The Stars Are Watching, will be shown at the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust’s 707 Penn Gallery from October 30, 2026 through April 11, 2027. A founding member of VaultArt, Charlie’s known for his large paper-doll portraits. For this show, he reimagines the tarot’s Major Arcana as celebrities. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Sunday. Curated by Steph, the show is the Trust’s fourth collaboration with VaultArt.
Fellow artist Lee Kennedy shows his latest piece, which feels like it was influenced by the art of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Pittsburgh’s own Randy Gilson of Randyland. His work is fun to examine as it’s chock-full of imagery and pop references.
“Look, I put Dolly Parton in the painting,” he says, and sure enough, there she is.
If You Want to Visit
VaultArt Studio is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Walk-ins are welcome, but it’s best to call, as it’s a working studio. Steph says the gallery especially shines during Unblurred, Pittsburgh’s longest-running art crawl. It’s held the first Friday of every month, starting at 6 p.m., along the 4800 to 5500 blocks of Penn Avenue.
VaultArt Studio
5100 Penn Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
412-404-2895; vaultart@achieva.info
www.vaultartstudio.org
