From Earth to Energy by Dominick Laruccia, Jr. Circa 1965
I recently was reviewing photo archives and rediscovered photos of some of Dominick Laruccia's sculpted works. He was an active sculptor for a relatively short period from the early 196os to the early 1970s. From his one room studio apartment in Orange, CA, Dominick created some of the most masterful pieces of the mid century. It could be easily argued that his pieces display better conception and technical prowess that contemporaries such as Bartoia, Faulkenstein, Lippold, Caulder. Dominick is an unknown genius of that era that did not rise to prominence due to a variety of circumstances.
Laruccia's media was copper, glass, precious and semi precious stones, gold, acrylics, hydrostone, cement fondue, acrylics, silver point and more. An early career as a research organic chemist, BA Berkley, armed him with the insight into materials and chemical processes. His patinas were developed from his background as a chemist. Being in Dominick's studio was like a visit to a medieval lair of one of the omni geniuses. The sculpting studio, adjacent to the sleeping area, was outfitted with kick press, drill press, belt sander, vices, rod parter, tools bins, welding bench, oxygen-acetylene tanks and drawers and nooks filled with treasured materials such as gold wire, lapis lazuli, rare woods, opals, marble and tons of copper rod, sheet, shot, braising alloy. He always had a baby grand piano at hand and dabbled in composition. His background as a concert flutist was evidenced by the large library of classic flute literature and a terrific old ebony flute with a silver head joint and ivory lip plate. The gardens around the studio as various times had pheasant, chickens, exotic succulents, dozens of cymbydiums and other plants. Dominick even had his own proprietary potting soil mix. The studio was like a dense neutron star, compact with exotic materials and personal history.
Below are a sampling of scanned photos, mostly from old black and whites that Dominick took using an old box camera, another of his crafts. I will be posting other blogs that detail some of his graphic, the sculpted trees and more. I am interested in acquiring works by Laruccia and can be reached at [email protected]
Michael Hutchings
Coppersmith
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