The first-floor gallery exhibition “New and Novel 2009:Collection FocusMichael Lucero at the RAM” (through Jan. 17, 2010) features 15pieces from this renowned ceramist in a mini-retrospective of his career.Lucero was born in California,but frequent visits to his grandparents added a Southwestern heritage to hisupbringing. Lucero’s artwork marries American-Indian, pre-Columbian, Europeanand American cultural elements while honoring art history. In turn, this mergeswith the artist’s love for nature and unbridled color palette so that hisearthenware surfaces alight with texture, realistic drawings and rich glazes.This unique fusion of history, nature, ceramics, painting and sculpture adds ahighly intellectual component to Lucero’s witty, vibrant pieces.
Lucero believes that working in a series, or interpretingone aesthetic through numerous artworks, allows for a powerful expression ofideas, as illustrated in several pieces of his Reclamation Series. In this particular collection, Lucero recyclesfound objects referencing material wealth and modern mass production, meldinghigh art and low art with his own unique ceramics.
The large-scale, 76-inch-tall Nomad incorporates a found painted wooden statue, worn andweathered, that stands on a stool with a Matisse-like flowered vase for thehead. The figure appears as a watchman overlooking lonely streets. Lucero maybe alluding to the cultural and familial detachment common in today’s society,which leaves the alienated man with his throwaway goods homeless. Anothersculpture from the same series, titled Deer,reuses a concrete lawn ornament withthree mended ceramic legs and a molded double head. Does material progresspermit nature a place, or is it preferable to replace nature with these fauxcommercial versions?
Lucero’s ceramics evoke fascinating culturalobservations, and his expertise transforms the ceramic medium into exceptionalfine art. On his artistic journey to international acclaim, Lucero has become athree-time recipient of fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts.Through this premiere exhibit, the RAM introduces the region to an artist whomight otherwise remain unknown. Moreover, this artist may well challengeviewers’ preconceived notions of contemporary art.
