Albany Portal Gates

New York State

In 1979, Marte Cellura was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Grant in Metal to study and work at the studio of master metal sculptor Albert Paley in Rochester, New York. This NEA-funded apprenticeship placed Cellura within one of the most influential contemporary metal studios of the late twentieth century, where large-scale forged architectural metalwork was executed at the highest professional level.

While at Albert Paley Studios, Cellura participated as a working metalsmith on the fabrication of the Albany Portal Gates, a major forged steel architectural commission for New York State. The project involved the forging and manipulation of substantial solid steel elements, including large curved sections requiring advanced blacksmithing skill, physical execution, and an understanding of complex structural demands. Cellura’s participation is documented in the film Portal: The Albany Gates, directed by J. William Rowling, in which he is listed among the project’s working metalsmiths.

Renwick Gallery Gates

Smithsonian Institution

During the same NEA-funded period, Cellura contributed to the refinishing and restoration of the historic Renwick Gallery Gates at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, District of Columbia. This work involved the careful treatment and conservation of nationally significant architectural ironwork associated with one of the Smithsonian’s most important museum buildings.

The Renwick Gallery Gates project demanded precision, sensitivity to historic fabric, and master-level metal finishing techniques. This period represents a foundational professional landmark, placing Cellura within the lineage of master-level forged metal sculpture and establishing enduring standards of craftsmanship, scale, and structural rigor that continue to inform his civic, architectural, and sculptural commissions.