Saverio Lucariello's Ceramic Sculptures Subvert Tradition with Humor and Licentiousness

Saverio Lucariello (b. 1958) has been creating ceramic sculptures for five years that challenge conventions of the medium while continuing his diverse practice spanning painting, video, installation, photography, and text. His works, such as Tripode—a trash-can-shaped vessel on three legs with two grimacing heads emerging from vegetables—feature self-portraits engaged in burlesque and irreverent scenes. Lucariello's ceramics revisit the vanitas theme, replacing classical skulls with his own face and incorporating licentious subjects like fellatio (Érotique et Bucolique) and angelic lovers (les Anges). Working in isolation in Burgundy, he hand-models vegetables and figures without molds, preserving the unity of the sculpture. His approach draws on 18th-century rococo and fêtes galantes, subverting both modern conformism and traditional ceramic imagery. Lucariello's ceramics will be included in the exhibition "Body & Soul. New International Ceramics" at the MAD Museum in New York from September 24, 2013 to March 2, 2014.