By 40 design
Salon Art + Design 2021
ROBERTO LUGO The art professor and ceramicist talks about blending graffiti and hip-hop culture with classical pottery Philadelphia-based Roberto Lugo has brought pottery into the 21st century, creating ceramics inspired by urban graffiti, politics and hip-hop culture. He describes himself as a “potter, social activist, spoken word poet and educator” and is an assistant professor at Tyler School of Art and Architecture. What came first – graffiti or ceramics? Roberto Lugo: Graffiti came first in my life because that was the only access to art I had growing up. I started working with graffiti in my teens as a way of connecting with my brother, cousins and other people my age. I didn’t start making ceramics until I took a community college class in my mid-20s. Is your approach all about re-contextualizing the ceramic vessel? I don’t think I’m reinventing ceramics. Honestly, what I think I’m doing is introducing new ideas and utilizing historic vessel forms as a template and a platform for people who maybe don’t understand the subject matter I’m instituting; converging hip-hop and the culture that I grew up with and classical pottery. My work becomes a bridge between those things. Who is your work aimed at? I’m very passionate about accessibility, and sell my own work at a range of price points, from cups to stickers and hats to 4ft vessels. You know, there are a lot of people of color who are art collectors and there’s this stigma that they should only seek out art that is representative of their identity and experiences with respect to race. Nonetheless, I believe that there are many ways to participate in art outside of owning a physical piece of it. In ceramics, for so long it has been about function or exclusivity, and I think that’s changing with social media, since people are able to view and admire art without cost barriers.
Roberto Lugo. Photo: Meghan Tranauskas. Courtesy: Wexler Gallery
Do you hand paint every piece? Yes, my work features several decorative ceramic techniques such as slip/underglaze painting, china paint, ceramic decals and luster. A lot of people don’t have the time to sit and hand paint a pot for 20 hours, so in my work, I’m really using whatever I feel like is the best process to achieve my goal. If the goal is to have a piece that really looks hand-painted and it shows human errors, or if there’s an area where I really want it to look like a neutral space and I don’t want anyone to pay attention to how it’s made, I might choose a more industrial process like a ceramic decal. Will you attend the Salon Art + Design fair this November in New York? I’ve participated in the Salon Art + Design fair several times, and I believe at least one of my pieces will be there with Wexler Gallery.
