Coppersmith

Earth to Energy One - Dominick Laruccia. Jr.

Earth to Energy One - First Place and the Santa Barbara Sculptor's Guild 2013 Show

 

Dominick Laruccia, sculptor, was commissioned to create a piece for the San Diego Gas Company in 1964-65. His first effort was the piece pictured above.  The materials used are copper nails, sheet copper, copper plumbing fittings, copper pipe, copper shot and a braising alloy. It stands about four feet high and sixteen inches in diameter. The color of the copper was achieved with a proprietary chemical patination. My best guess is that the copper nail armature was briased together with the aid of a steel pipe to help form the shape. I actually have the cardboard patters for the turbine stucture in my archives. I fancy that is akin to having notes from Leonardo da Vinci.

Dominick's background as an organic chemist was the catalyst for creating a double  flame shape that enveloped a turbine-like structure suspended within the flame. The piece is a masterful opus of design and execution. True to the artists temperament, he was not satisfied with the piece. He retained this sculpture and produced another that was more complex and utilized glass spheres, plumbing fittings and large copper nails.

This sculptured was relegated to the back of a closet and never was shown in public, until now. I am pleased to say that it took first place in the exhibit and I am delighted to share the sculpture with the public.

Bravo Laruccia

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

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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.

Sculpted Tree Circa 1967

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

chefmichael@michaelscateringsb.com

Media and Styles

Copper Vase

Sculpted Trees

Wire Sculptures

Copper Trees with Glass

Acrylic

Copper Box

Copper and Marble

 

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 Laruccia Sculpted Tree Circa 1965, Root Details, 8 inches tall

 

 

 The internet is magic. It brings desperate worlds together and connects in unexpected ways. A few years back, I would have never dreamed of finding sculptures from my old mentor, Dominick Laruccia, Jr. Now, I discover or am contacted about pieces that folks have owned or acquired in estate sales.

I have been able to add to my collection, mostly of sculpted trees. I have estimated that there are over 400 of the genera that were made. Styles vary widely from the simple upright, no roots version to one that was 24 inches tall with some 75 glass fruit. For the most part, they have stood up well. Dominick use to say that his pieces would last hundreds of years. Certainly the copper structure will, but the glass fruit eventually drop off when the epoxy fails. I have repaired a few already. Most often, branches become mangled and need reshaping. Laruccia always gave them a formal shaping in character with the overall design. In some cases the glass fruit was glued to each other to retain the shape.

On rare occasions I have found other sculptural styles such as a vase, wire wound pieces, geometric abstracts. THe trees, however, were the most prolific pieces and were the bread and butter off the welding bench. Please contact me if you have a Laruccia sculpture, even if only to share. I am writing a biographical piece and would love to reference his other works.

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

 

 

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I was recently contacted by a dealer in South Carolina about a sculpture the purchased from an estate sale. I purchased the piece sight unseen. Typically the Laruccia trees I have purchased have the branch work mangles from handling and the occasional broken root tip or missing glass fruit. THis piece was no exception. It will be easily repaired and restored to its original glory. The colors and somewhat faded but still show the little surprise burst of color at the right angle. THe form is different in that the trunk is stocky with a heavy gauge wire and one inch glass fruit on 18 "stems."

I am delighted to add it to my collection. I am continually delighted by the variety of forms the Dominick Laruccia created in the style of sculpture he invented. Please get in touch if you know of a Laruccia work, even if it is to share a photo. Laruccia created many other sculptures and typically signed his work.

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

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Copper Vase an Evolution

Sometimes, a piece of sculpture evolves over time. This vase is a case in point. The patinated, copper base and central support started out as the structure for the piece tht later became "Il Monde." That was featured in an earlier blog and was done in a Claire Faulkenstein style using over 200 feet of copper tubing. The original idea was to have a cut crystal sphere inside a cage of copper that was illuminated by and electric candle set inside the copper pipe column and concealed by a sliding trap door. That door proved to be problematical later when the base was reused.

 

I ended up deconstructing the piece as the base structure looked too busy with all the copper pipe below the shpere. At the time I was also experimenting with foldforming techniques and produced a number of leave structures. In time, I applied those leaves to the rejected base of Il Monde and capped it with a hand twisted, forged ring. When I filled the vase with water to test for leaks, it did leak. My solution was to our in molten lead to seal those leaks. That was not successful so I mixed a two part boat repair resin and pushed that in to the bottom of the pipe. Still leaked. Last week I applied the torch and burnt off the resin and heated the lead filler until it melted. Some molten lead dribbled out and when it cooled, the leak was fixed. Lastly, I patinated the base area, left the leaves a nature flame finish and applied a sealing coat.

 

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

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Il Monde One Copper Sculpture

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I recently purchased a Laruccia copper and glass tree on the internet. From the style, it appears to be an early version from the mid 1960s. I had never seen the branching structure that this piece has. Smaller copper cable was joined to make a three-forked branching for the glass fruit. Since it was unpolished, that also helps to place it in that time frame. It is about 8" high and in great shape, like new condition.

Laruccia was an active sculptor from about 1962-1974. His studio was in Orange, California, in an oversized studio cottage. He worked primairly with copper but employed other metals, semi precious stones, acrylics, cast exotic cements and chemical compounds. After his move back to Queens, NY, he worked primarily in graphics but was not active on the art scene.

I am an active collector of Laruccia works, please contact me if you have one of his pieces and would like more information. 

In Copper We Trust

Michael Hutchings, Coppersmith

New Laruccia Copper Sculpted Tree

A picker in Santa Maria, CA recently contact me about a sculpted Laruccia tree he purchased from an estate sale. The piece is an example of the windswept version about 8-9 inches high. The polished finish and style places it in the early 1970s. The metal is copper braised with a copper alloy. The branch work and trunk are reclaimed copper cable and the pebble base is copper shot braised inside a copper cable ring using a copper alloy.

The piece is in need of some TLC as all the glass fruit has fallen off and a few of the root tips appear to be broken. While I made an offer, it was refused by the picker. I was hoping it would come up on EBay but I have not seen it yet. I think the fellow either paid more than my offer or has an inflated idea of the pieces value or decided to keep it in his collection. It was most probably originally sold at Gump's in San Francisco.

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

Il Monde One Copper Sculpture

 

 

Sculpting in metal has a deep satisfaction. Making a piece from copper means that it will be around for hundreds of years, unlike my 'food art" of cheffing that is gone in moments. 

This piece was inspired by the works of Claire Faulkenstein, a sculptor from the early     to mid part of the last century,(July 22, 1908 – October 23, 1997). She was an American sculptor, painter, print maker, jewelry designer, and teacher, most renowned for her often large-scale abstract metal and glass public sculptures. The other influence was my mentor, Dominick Laruccia, Jr. His technique and use of materials are infused in the piece.

 

The sphere is constructed of over 200 feet of copper tubing held together with more than 4,000 braised attachment points. Hidden in the center of the sphere is a lapis lazuli globe reminiscent of earth. I chose the pyramidal base for its eternal appeal. The sculpture references the cosmos in the maco and micro sense. The web of copper around the earth-like sphere echos the contrapuntal fugue of the expanding universe. OK, sounds like an art critic or wine snob! What do you see in it?

The piece went through two design phases. The first mount was constructed from copper shot, pipe fittings and has a repeated copper tube design. The central pipe core had a trap door to place a light inside. On top and inside the sphere was a large Crystal ball that would have been illuminated from the light at the bottom of the pipe. I did not like the cluttered look under the sphere so I deconstructed the base and redesigned it with th pyramid. The trick was braising the sphere to the pyramid and not melting the epoxy holding the lapis globe to its mount on top of the pyramid. See if you can figure out how I did that hat track by watching the You Tube Video below. The pyramidal base has a hidden compartment for storing stacks of $100 bills, love letter or old treasure maps.

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

 

Ficus Macrophylla One Restoration of a Sculpture

In 1974, I was house sitting in the sculptor's studio of Dominick Laruccia, Jr. I had been his assistant off and on the previous four years. During that time I observed the craft Dominick had evolved to create sculptures from copper, gold, minerals and a variety of pigments and patinas. Having access to the studio was like Mickey Mousse in the sorcerer's apprentice. So, I welded, braised and hammered sculpted pieces. 

One of Dominick's creations was a sculpted copper tree with glass fruit glued onto painted copper cups. There were numerous variations from small upright forms, windswept, tall sequoa-like spires and the occasional two foot tall giants. They were mostly sold at Gump's in San Francisco from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. There were hundreds made during that time. I have managed to collect a number of pieces that I will write about in later blogs.

After trying my hand at smaller sculpted pieces, I decided to sculpt my version of a Moreton Bay Fig Tree, ficus macrophylla. In the city of Orange, CA, where the studio was located, there was a grand specimen growing on Glassell, the main street. It was and still is located next to the Holy Family Cathedral Catholic church. I often made late night walks to study the root system and branching.

Moreton Bay Fig Tree, Orange, CA Planted 1875 Photo Daralee 

In order to achieve the fullness in the branching, I added more copper wires to the existing cable that served as the armature for the tree. There were well over 150 glass marbles one inch in diameter. I chose shades of sky blue, golden yellow and gold leaf for the colors. I think I achieved the effect I was looking for and the root structures presented a stylised realization of the buttressed roots of the fig tree. It stands about 12 inches high by 15 inches wide. It was, however, very heavy with all that glass. There was always a problem with branches sagging. 

Over the years and after many moves, the sculpture sat in an old Bordeaux wine box with badly mangled branches and some of the glass fruits falling off. Recently, I took on the project of restoring the piece. It took some four hours to reform the branch work and remove all the glass marbles. Fortunately, the paint and gold leaf on the cups held up well. I have now completed the restoration and epoxied new glass fruit on the cups. I used smaller glass marbles to reduce the weight and have a better piece with the restoration. I expect that it will be enjoyed by my heirs years from now.

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

 

 

Dominick Laruccia, Jr. Sculture Archives

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 chef2@aol.com

Michael Hutchings

Coppersmith

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