This sculpture is available for purchase at the Crocker Art Action 2022 @Crockerart #Crockerart
"Balance and Perspective"
René Martucci 2019
Ceramic
27.5”x12”x11"
Balance and Perspective has a distressed surface to create a weathered look. Layered with washes, underglazes and glazes, it is then fired to cone 5. The dog, the book, the pot and the box are all vessels able to hold something inside. These mundane objects are decidedly inelegant and arranged in a nonsensical stack that creates both instability and a new point of view. Balance and Perspective was selected in 2020 to show in the LH Horton Jr Gallery's annual Visions In Clay Exhibition and Awards Competition with juror Nancy Selvin, ceramics professor at California College of the Arts.
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RENÉ MARTUCCI Biography
Born 1960 Tacoma, Washington
www.renemartucci.com
Education
1983 UC DAVIS, CA: BA ART STUDIO, MINOR PSYCHOLOGY
1988 CSU SACRAMENTO, CA: TEACHING CREDENTIAL, ART
SUPPLEMENTAL CREDENTIAL, PSYCHOLOGY
Investigating the ordinary is the pervasive theme in Martucci’s work. She enlists accessible images as she looks to define universal experiences and create a vocabulary to express personal meaning and her interest in shared stories. A figurative artist, focusing on people and animals as her subject matter, Martucci seeks to represent thoughts, emotions, simple truths and states of mind. Much like Roy Deforest, Martucci has become well known for her dog imagery. The two were even paired together as the featured artists years back at a Sacramento Sutter Club event called “The Art of the Dog”. Choosing animals closely identified with human society — including cats — led Martucci to a project with renowned artist Judy Chicago. Working closely with Chicago, Martucci rendered cats from Chicago’s drawings in the book “Kitty City”. Chicago china painted the final sculptures in her signature style made famous by her 1974-79 installation “The Dinner Party”.
"In Martucci’s Dog On A Column!series, pets are not solely objects of affection. Rather, Martucci elevates them to a favored status, toying with the subject in the same way that Robert Arneson featured typewriters and toilets. Whereas Arneson delved further into public commentary, Martucci connects with canine imagery found throughout sculptural history . . . . Her dogs are balanced atop stacked forms, raising them to human eye level. This elevation of the common object is very much in the tradition of Funk art absent the affronting banality that defined many of these works,” says ceramic historian Nancy Servis.
Martucci studied with Robert Arneson, Manual Neri and Wayne Thiebaud at UC Davis from 1978-1983. Under the guidance of Robert Arneson, Martucci developed solid craftsmanship and a pervasive desire to explore and challenge herself as an artist. In the dynamic environment of the university’s ceramic lab TB-9, Martucci spent many hours sharing ideas with talented art students including Lisa Reinertson, Arthur Gonzalez and Tony Natsoulas. Martucci continued her studies at CSU Sacramento focusing on K-12 art education.
Devoting over three decades to ceramic sculpture, Martucci has received wide attention for her work. Among her many installations, two of Martucci's signature dog columns stand at the entrance of the famous Staglin Vineyard in Napa – a winery noted for its extensive fine art collection. Martucci's Discovery and Knowledge bench and "Tower of Books" sculptures are located at the Mary L. Stephens Davis Branch Library.
Along with her studio activities, Martucci works on private commissions, public art projects, artist in residence and art education. She has led a number of community based projects with elementary school children, combining art education, art creation and social studies integration to create public art. Martucci's most recently completed public art project is "Dog Day" bench at 1st and F street in Downtown Davis. The five bench public art project at the Regal Davis Holiday 6 includes artist Rene Martucci, Donna Billick, Wes Horn, Mark Rivera and Jean Van Keuren.