Gabon Carolina (Primary Title)
Michael Lucero, American, born 1953 (Artist)
This habit of mine might be considered my way of attempting a social study of American culture, of other cultures, of the conglomerate of all sorts of things from different times and different places. –Michael Lucero
Lucero is known for sculptures that stretch the perceived limitation of ceramics—whether by large scale, painterly surfaces, or the inclusion of found objects. An ardent admirer of art from a spectrum of places and times, he incorporates references to diverse cultures in his work, including pre-Columbian, Native American, European, and African.
Gabon Carolina belongs to Lucero’s New World series. Recalling African American face jugs from the Carolines, the top part presents a colorful ceramic vessel with a frog nose. This sits atop a tourist-trade version of a Fang Bieri figure from Gabon whose original purpose was to protect relics.
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