Mara Superior’s passion for Art History and the History of the Decorative Arts has informed her work throughout her career. She seeks to create beauty through the reinterpretation of historical inspirations synthesized with her own visual vocabulary and contemporary views. The idiosyncratic visual language that Superior has been cultivating over decades is largely rooted in porcelain but encompasses painting, art history, ceramic history, and contemporary art. Works in this series juxtapose art historical references beginning with the Egyptians through 17th-century European ceramics from a contemporary viewpoint. The resulting objects are rooted in the historical continuum.

Mara Superior, “Birth of Venus (After Sandro Botticelli)”, 2021, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides and underglazes, gold leaf, epoxy, digital print, 17.5 x 14 x 2″.

Mara Superior, “Teapot of Survival (Portland Vase)”, 2023, high-fired English porcelain, painted with ceramic underglazes, ground oxides, Cornwallstone glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone and ink, 19 x 14.5 x 6.5″.

Mara Superior, “Rubens Relief”, 2018, 8 x 10 x 2.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf.

Mara Superior, “Venus of Urbino Revived”, 2018, 13 x 19 x 1.75″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, gold leaf, decal, detail. Chazen Museum of Art (2019.1).

Mara Superior, “Belle France”, 2005, 22 x 19 x 8.5″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood base, gold leaf, bone label, brass pins.

Mara Superior, “Madama Butterfly”, 2005, 22 x 18 x 8″, high-fired porcelain, ceramic oxides, underglaze, glaze, wood, gold leaf, bone, brass pins.