BORN 1970 | BOSTON, Lives in New York
Gempot #3 with Fur, 2003 (not pictured)
Terracotta, ceramic, fake gold and silver jewelry, chain, luster, rabbit fur
Extended loan from a private collection, Boston
Rooted in the craft of ceramics, Nicole Cherubini’s work engages art history and popular culture. Handmade from small, flat clumps of clay, the pots are over-scaled and non-utilitarian. They are built in layers, from the bottom up, and then glazed repeatedly with seductively rich colors that are sometimes carefully applied and at others dripping and messy, giving the surface a painterly feeling. The exaggerated size, surface, and color of Cherubini’s ceramic sculptures refer to the excess of material wealth endemic to American culture. Gempot #3 with Fur is festooned with baroque appliqué or “bling”— rabbit fur, fake gold rings, and silver chains, and ceramic gem shapes that protrude in all directions. While the pots are ostentatiously decorative, the rectangular, black pedestal expresses a quiet minimalism. This tension of elements pushes issues of taste... nearly over the top.