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Michael Lucero

Biography to Display: 

1953Born Tracy, California

EDUCATION

1975BA Humboldt State University, Arcata, California

1978MFA University of Washington, Seattle, Washington

PRIMARY WORK EXPERIENCE

1978-presentIndependent Studio Artist, Nyack, New York

BIOGRAPHY

Michael Lucero creates imaginative, colorful sculptures elaborately painted with dreamlike, surreal scenes. His figurative sculptures are often created in a series, using repeated motifs to illustrate a particular theme.

Many of his themes are inspired by his childhood visits to relatives in New Mexico. Images of the exotic landscape, indigenous culture, and diverse flora and fauna of the Southwest and his native California reemerge throughout his works. Occasionally, he has used found objects, primarily ceramic, and yarn in his work.

Public Collections

Public Collections to Display: 

Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas

Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Dannheisser Foundation, New York, New York

Daum Museum, Sedalia, Missouri

Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

Fabric Workshop & Museum, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, Massachusetts

High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia

Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C.

Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art, Kansas City, Missouri

Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California

Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, New York

Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, Mexico

Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York

National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C.

National Museum of Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea

Nerman Museum, Kansas City, Missouri

New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York, New York

Nora Eccles Harrison Museum of Art, East Logan, Utah

Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa, Oklahoma

San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, California

Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

Toledo Museum of Art, Toledo, Ohio

Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, Connecticut

Bibliography

Bibliography to Display: 

Brenson, Michael. “Michael Lucero, Shamelessness.” Sculpture Magazine, July/August 1992.

Leach, Mark RichardMichael Lucero: Sculpture 1976-1995. Manchester, VT: Hudson Hills, 1996.

Levin, Elaine. The History of American Ceramics: From Pipkins and Bean Pots to Contemporary Forms, 1607 to the Present. New York, NY: Harry N. Abrams, 1988.

McCready, Karen, Christina Bertoni, Mary Jo Bole and Robert Brady. Contemporary American Ceramics Twenty Artists: Newport Harbor Art Museum. Newport Harbor, CA: Newport Harbor Art Museum, 1985.

 

CV or Resume: Click Here to Download

CV or Resume: Click Here to Download
Source: Charles Cowles Gallery, Inc., Elaine Levin Archive, University of Southern California

 

Typical Marks
1991
1995
2004
2007
Picasso Palette
Date: 1976
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Porcelain
Method: Slab-Built, Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Judith and Martin Schwartz Collection
Photo: John Polak
Judith and Martin Schwartz Collection
Photo: John Polak
Photo: John Polak
North American Dreamer
Date: 1984
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Yellow Cliff Dreamer
Date: 1985
Form: Sculpture
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot #111
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot #111
Pre Columbian Man with George Ohr Pot
Date: 1991
Form: Sculpture
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Photo: John Polak
Anthpormorphic Baby Form in Stroller
Date: 1995
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Mixed Media
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Photo: John Polak
Castle High (Seated Totem Series)
Date: 2007
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Mixed Media
Method: Mixed Methods
Surface Technique: Glaze
Racine Art Museum, gift of David and Jacqueline Charak
Photo: TMP
Racine Art Museum, gift of David and Jacqueline Charak
Photo: TMP
Teapot
Date: 2009
Method: Thrown, Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Margaret Pennington Collection
Photo: John Polak
Photo: John Polak
Untitled
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Mixed Media
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Yarn
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot 109
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot 109
Photo: TMP
Guard Dog Barking
Form: Sculpture
Materials: Earthenware
Method: Hand-Built
Surface Technique: Glaze
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot #110
Courtesy Treadway Toomey Auctions, Candice Groot Collection, April 16, 2016, lot #110

Citation: "The Marks Project." Last modified July 24, 2023. http://www.themarksproject.org/marks/lucero