Lucian Octavius Pompili (American, b. 1942)
Cast Plaster Arm with Rose and Box
Dimensions: 14.75” H × 4.5” W × 3.25” D
Cast in plaster, the piece presents an arm with a hand, a protruding box and accented by a plaster rose wired to the side of the arm. The combination of bodily form, geometric intrusion, and floral motif evokes Pompili’s recurring interest in juxtaposing the organic with the constructed.
Condition: Good overall condition with surface wear consistent with age. A corner chip at the base could be original to the artist’s process or later damage. Retains original gallery label affixed to underside.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1942, Lucian Octavius Pompili emerged as a distinctive voice in postwar American ceramics and sculpture. He studied under Robert Arneson at the University of California, Davis, where he absorbed the experimental ethos of the Bay Area clay movement. In 1975, Pompili was awarded the prestigious SECA Award by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, recognizing him as one of the most promising contemporary artists of his generation.
His work is characterized by a playful exploration of form—often combining figural fragments, domestic objects, and symbolic motifs rendered in clay, plaster, and mixed media. Pompili’s art sits at the intersection of craft and conceptualism, reflecting both the California Funk movement and broader currents in 20th-century sculpture.
SECA Award Exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1975
Am I Your Type, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2023
Solo and group presentations at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Sybaris Gallery, Detroit; and Theo Portnoy Gallery, New York
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia
Lucian Octavius Pompili (American, b. 1942)
Cast Plaster Arm with Rose and Box
Dimensions: 14.75” H × 4.5” W × 3.25” D
Cast in plaster, the piece presents an arm with a hand, a protruding box and accented by a plaster rose wired to the side of the arm. The combination of bodily form, geometric intrusion, and floral motif evokes Pompili’s recurring interest in juxtaposing the organic with the constructed.
Condition: Good overall condition with surface wear consistent with age. A corner chip at the base could be original to the artist’s process or later damage. Retains original gallery label affixed to underside.
Born in Washington, D.C. in 1942, Lucian Octavius Pompili emerged as a distinctive voice in postwar American ceramics and sculpture. He studied under Robert Arneson at the University of California, Davis, where he absorbed the experimental ethos of the Bay Area clay movement. In 1975, Pompili was awarded the prestigious SECA Award by the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, recognizing him as one of the most promising contemporary artists of his generation.
His work is characterized by a playful exploration of form—often combining figural fragments, domestic objects, and symbolic motifs rendered in clay, plaster, and mixed media. Pompili’s art sits at the intersection of craft and conceptualism, reflecting both the California Funk movement and broader currents in 20th-century sculpture.
SECA Award Exhibition, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, 1975
Am I Your Type, Marjorie Barrick Museum of Art, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, 2023
Solo and group presentations at Museum of Fine Arts, Houston; Sybaris Gallery, Detroit; and Theo Portnoy Gallery, New York
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA)
Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA)
Fralin Museum of Art at the University of Virginia
