Laurent Craste’s Sculpture Exhibit Violently ‘Attacked’ at Everson Museum of Art

Excerpt from This is CNY:

Laurent Craste’s “Iconoclasts” sculpture show at the Everson Museum of Art features porcelain vessels apparently attacked with axes, crowbars and bats.

The violence is faked, Craste told Syracuse.com. For example, he created his sculpture of a porcelain vessel pierced by an axe in several stages.

First he made the vessel on the wheel, in the traditional manner, and then — while still wet — he pressed the axe into the vessel. He removed the axe before firing the porcelain — as the wooden handle would have burned in the kiln.

Once the vessel was fired and cooled, Craste carefully re-inserted the axe.

The violence against the lovely porcelain vessels is shocking to some people, said Craste. He wants to stir people up, he’s also trying to use humor to make a serious point about luxury objects and their collectors. He said kids are particularly eager to touch the sculptures.

Laurent Craste
Iconocraste à la barre à clou II, 2019
Porcelain, glaze, bright gold, and crowbar
27 5/8 x 14 9/16 x 20 1/2 inches
Everson Museum of Art; Museum purchase, 2022.30