michael lucero
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Born in Tracy, California, he earned a BA degree from Humboldt State University in 1975. In 1978, he earned an MFA at the University of Washington in Seattle. Soon after, he settled in New York when Minimalism was dominant in the art scene. Some of his work such as "Lizard Slayer," reflects that movement. He taught briefly at New York University and the Parsons School of Design. In the late 1980s, he turned from polychrome clay to cast metal and then began to incorporate both mediums. Generally he sees his work as "reverence for high art, affection for folk art, nostalgia for nature, and curiosity about other cultures."
Biography
At an early age, Michael Lucero made
complex and fused sculptures using
several lean, hand-made tiles which
were attached to wire frames. He
often chose to do human figures, but
sometimes he varied into animal
forms. Already in these early works,
one can see combinations of
human/animal, culture/nature,
architecture/organism that have
remained an component in Lucero's
ensuing work.
Once Lucero committed to
working primarily in clay, he was
determined to grant it the
primacy traditionally given oil
paint or marble. This implicit
faithfulness to the integrity of his
material permeates all his work.
Lucero's interest in the Native
American Pueblo dates back to his
childhood travels from California to
relatives in New Mexico. Here he
would come into contact with
American Natives and their culture.
Native American rugs, jewelry,
sculpture and ceramics would come to
influence Lucero in his later life. The
Californian and New Mexican
environment also supplied the artist
with a rich abundance of animal life,
especially reptiles and amphibians
that he loved as a child and employed
in his imagery later in life.From the beginning of his career, Lucero challenged the perceived limitations of his chosen material—clay. His definition of "fine art" was not limited to paint and canvas, stone, metal, or wood. Instead, as is the case in many non-Anglo cultures, for Lucero the concept of fine art equally defines archeology, including ceramic-based vessels and figural forms.
In his 'Dreamer' series, Lucero made Pink Nude Dreamer, which
consists of the head form that Lucero constantly uses for this
series. It is decorated with a range of painted scenes reflecting
Lucero's early undergraduate training in painting at Humboldt State University in California.
Employing painted underglazes and sgraffito on a shape that doesn't
directly relate to the imagery, we see typical painterly elements of Lucero's
work that he has become so well known for. One cannot but help
getting a distinct feeling of surrealism here. The fantastic images Lucero paints on his forms seem to spring
from the sub-conscious and speak to sub-conscious strands of the viewers
mind.
Lucero’s maverick vision presented
the artist with challenges unlike any
he imagined. Lucero was immersed in
figuration at a time when Minimalism
,
performance, and earth art were
among the dominant and critically
accepted art forms.
The imagery that slides in and out of
the complex glazes of this master of
the ceramic medium is art about art,
art about place, art about self. The consistent strength of the work comes from a fusion of ceramic
tradition with sculptural innovation, and from a combination of
extraordinarily fine technique, keen
wide-ranging intelligence, and the
resonance brought to bear by past associations, cultures, and use.
An ardent admirer of global culture, he often incorporates specific stylistic
references to one culture or another into his work, creating complex, hybrid forms. Throughout his career, he was discouraged by many in the art world from describing those interests in his work. But he
persevered, and the stunning results of this career-long odyssey are a provocative and enduring body of sculpture that illustrates the fluid,
dynamic character of global culture.
Taken as a whole, Lucero’s artworks
contain three core elements: an
ecumenical borrowing from the
history of art of various cultures, a
persistent metaphorical and physical
movement between interior and
exterior structures and spaces, and a
faithfulness to the ceramic medium.
While at first glance his work appears to be a vigorous example
of contemporary ceramic sculpture, with a background in
1960s California art and a foreground in New York
eclecticism, in fact his figurative forms borrow liberally and wittily from the history of art of various cultures, including pre-Columbian
and Native American; the European avant-garde; African-based forms; and George Ohr
ceramics, as well as the vernacular and mass media. Since the 1970s Lucero has consciously moved backwards and sideways
through the history of art. His most recent work incorporates
found objects of popular art and culture.
The artist’s creative reworking of
multicultural forms and his
exploration of such contrasting ideas
as beauty and the grotesque, culture
and nature, the sacred and the
profane, ritual and accidental, and
purity and contamination offer an
authentic model of cultural pluralism.
Technically, visually, and
conceptually, Lucero’s work offers
immediate access to alternate
notions of originality and cultural
relativity. The visual and formal
diversity of his works is a metaphor
for contemporary life and collective
existence in which there is not one
predominant culture, but many voices
existing simultaneously.
THE SUN VASEBY: Regina Faraj
This is a big size ceramic vase glazed in bright colors
such as orange, red, and yellow; which represent the
sun’s vibrant colors. This ceramic piece is very simple,
but still contains the right elements to make it a
beautiful work of art. The vase’s colors transmit a joyful sensation to the
observer, and is as well a very symmetric and unique composition, consisting of a bottom piece and a handle.
Snow Vase
By: Regina FarajThe snow vase consists of a classical, simple style, inspired on a minimalistic art. Its pure white color gives it a touch of
pureness, fragility and simplicity. It measures 15” H and 7” W, which makes it a
unique structure.
http://ceramicstoday.com/potw/lucero.htm www.carnegiemuseums.org/.../marapr/feat6.htm
http://ceramicstoday.com/potw/lucero.htm http://www.ragoarts.com/onlinecats/10.07MOD/0065.jpg
www.carnegiemuseums.org/.../marapr/feat6.htm mountshang.blogspot.com/2007_11_01_archive.html
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