Untitled piece signed Laruccia '65
Copper with a patina wash
In the late '60s and early 70', I was an assistant to a sculptor names Dominick Laruccia, Jr. I will post more on this person later as it is a fascinating story of a complex man. In a recent web search, I found a dealer in London that was selling one of Dominick's art pieces. After some back and forth, I struck a deal and purchased the piece.
I am looking to find other pieces to collect. His medium was mostly copper but he also worked in acrylics, cast stone, gold, semi precious stones, marble and rare woods. Please email me if you know of one of his pieces.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s Dominick made sculpted copper and glass trees. They were sold mostly at Gump's in San Francisco. All the sculpted trees were crafted with the branches arraigned in a symmetric design. The little cups in later works are painted with acrylics on a gesso base.
The base was formed from copper shot and the basic structure is from copper cable. The cups were formed from copper slugs that were domed in a metal form. The metal used to hold the piece together as well as form the roots is a silver alloy. The roots were free formed in place using the melted alloy. It was pulled while molten into the root forms.
While most of these pieces were sold at Gump's, he did have a gallery association in Palm Springs back in the late 60's and early 70's as well as selling with Neiman Marcus and the American House in NY. I would estimated that as much as 200 sculpted trees were produced in a variety of designs from very small to a series of windswept versions about 10" in height. I have recently been contacted by a gallery that has a majestic piece that is nearly two fet in height.
The variety of his work goes well beyond the trees though. He was an organic chemist as well as a talented flutist (Carnegie Hall soloist at 19, Mozart Concerto in D). He forsook a career as a chemist with the Borax Lab in Anaheim to go into the art business. He found his medium when a man named Bob French introduced him to oxyacetylene sculpting.
Copper was his main medium and he interwove that with gold wire, marble, semi precious stones, rare woods and his own exotic materials. He dealt mostly in abstract forms but also used organic forms in some of his pieces. The vases he made are arguable his best pieces and represent great mastery of the materials. His mastery of abstract design and use of color marked his paintings and graphic designs.
Dominick may or may not still be alive. He would be about 81 but long suffered from allergies and fought mental disease all his life. Depression haunted him and once, about 1990, he attempted suicide that left him with a limp from nerve damage. I attempted to see him about 3 years ago and went to his apartment in Queens. He had left that place about a month before and I was told he went to live with a brother. As he had no brother, the person must have meant brother in law as he has a sister. He must still have relatives in the Long Island area. His mother and father were immigrants from Luccia, I believe. His father was a private tailor at Saks 5th Ave. when it was truly an exclusive store. Craftsmanship ran in the family. I wore some of those suites and they were incredible.
Please call or email if you have any of his works and are considering selling or want more information.
Michael Hutchings
Coppersmith
Media and Styles
Copper Vase
Sculpted Trees
Wire Sculptures
Copper Trees with Glass
Acrylic
Copper Box
Copper and Marble
