Blue Pavilion: Authenticity, Fantasy, & Trickery

An exhibit of works in scagliola and alabaster by Lucian Moriyama at the Cast Hall, June 27th-August 15th, 2024

The ICAA is proud to share the Cast Hall's 2024 exhibition, entitled Blue Pavilion: Authenticity, Fantasy, & Trickery, featuring works by Lucian Moriyama in scagliola and alabaster. Moriyama's work considers the place of plaster within an art historical canon fixated on authenticity. The classification of plaster as either documentary or fantasy is elusive, as it is inherently a medium that offers the viewer an echo of the work of art that it originates from, leaving them often questioning what differs between original sculpture and replication. We are prompted to consider if the most successful plaster works are the ones that offer the closest resemblance to its source material, or if the works should be viewed as their own works of art, divorced from their origin points. Ultimately, Moriyama’s work postulates that plaster has always had its own artistic niche that savors and delights in its role as a replicative material, with masters able to create artworks with their own visual attributes and merits. Presented in two sections, Blue Pavilion considers both the stunning and novel materiality of scagliola plaster as well as its omnipresent place in an art historical canon attempting to recreate the fantasy of an ancient past.

Nestled amongst the casts of the ICAA’s collection, Blue Pavilion highlights Moriyama’s sculptural pieces in conversation with the historic 19th century works on display in the Cast Hall. Surrounded by the casted artworks, Moriyama’s sculptures in scagliola celebrates the delightful trickery enabled by a replicative medium that cheekily attempts to appear as a material it is not. Through a series of vessels, relief panels, and everyday objects made of scagliola, Moriyama offers a continuity of the scagliola and plastering tradition, demonstrating the lasting vitality and interest in the materials and methods of historic plaster artistry. His work plumbs and revitalizes the fantasy of plaster, creating works that offer their own tantalizing tricks.

Lucian Moriyama (born Honolulu, 1991) is an artist and writer. He studied at the Hudson Valley Community College, the University of Glasgow, and the Beaux-Arts de Marseille, where he received the Prix François Bret, as well as the Prix du Tricentenaire from the Académie des sciences, lettres, et arts de Marseille. He has presented his works at Manifesta 13, Art-O-Rama, and Generation Brussels and has participated in conferences at Tramway and Mucem. He has been a resident at the Villa Filanda Antonini and the Villa Empain.

Moriyama’s work revisits cultural and material histories, excavating utopian forms and exotic fantasies. Artifice and fiction emerge as central themes in his works exploring the lacunae and exotica of art history, architecture, and music.

---

Blue Pavilion: Authenticity, Fantasy, & Trickery is on view at the ICAA's Cast Hall from June 27th- August 15th, 2024 and is open to the public by appointment. The Cast Hall is located at 20 W 44th Street, Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10036. Please contact [email protected] to visit.

Visitors may also attend public open houses on Saturday, June 29th and Saturday, July 20th from 10:30-5pm, with no RSVP necessary.

Moriyama will be giving a virtual artist's talk on the exhibition on July 2nd at 6pm ET, which is free and open to the public. Registration is available here.

Thanks to our Lead Cast Hall Exhibition Sponsor, Jared Goss, for his support.