Cedarburg furniture maker Charley Radtke and Missouri silversmith Sarah Perkins have collaborated on a fine cabinet currently being exhibited at the National Ornamental Metals Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. 

It’s not the first time the acclaimed artists have merged their creative talent to spectacular affect! In the decade they have worked together, they have created six major pieces; and Perkins has contributed her silver and enamel pieces as handles for a number of Radtke works.

two disciplines. Basic shapes were explored, and Perkins set out to make 30 granulated silver enamel pieces that would serve as the tops visual containment. Radtke then set out to create an object that would incorporate the pieces in a musical fashion.
Materials: Enameled fine silver (by Sarah Perkins), Belize mahogany, Missouri walnut (tiger striped), Missouri sassafras (in door panels), Gabon ebony, Missouri persimmon (drawer front), Port Orford cedar (interior wood), silver gilding, sterling silver hinges. Shellac and oil finish. 49" high, 29" wide, 15" deep. Indian Community School of Milwaukee, Inc., Milwaukee, WI; and various private collections worldwide.

The show, named “Tributaries," runs from December 9, 2011 – February 19, 2012. It features over a dozen small, lidded containers made of enameled metal…and the spectacular Radtke/Perkins cabinet. The artists began their work on the piece this past summer (2011).

According to a press release prepared for the exhibit, “After hours of talking about form, shape, rhythm, patterning, the two agreed on an effort that would marry their

“The watchwords were containment, visual unity, and fluidity. The resulting object is a study in proportions, reflective surfaces, shape transitions, and the interpretation of visual information by the viewer. “

Charley Radtke has pieces in the Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.; University of St. Mary of the Lake Theological Chapel, Mundelein, IL;