after twenty years as a practising theatre artist, serena moved to France to research corporeality in theatre with Ecole Internationale de Mime Corporel Dramatique and L.E.M. (Laboratoire Étude Mouvement) d’Ecole Jacques Lecoq. while there, experiments in manipulating clay to explore dynamic space and motion opened up a world of possibility, sparking her to change her means of expression from the human body to a variety of clay bodies.  

“certain movements i envisioned in my work were impossible for the body to create - the human body can only bend + curve in so many directions - but with clay, you can put form to anything. clay is freeing, permitting play in «the work». ceramics holds a beautiful lesson on control and the importance of lacking it to allow for aliveness - push clay too much in an effort to control form, and it will collapse, crumble, and crack. but be gentle and you can shape even the most impossible gestures.”

now, instead of the body, clay and color are used to evoke resistance, souplesse, rhythm, and weight.

she playfully refers to her style of working as céramique corporelle, as an homage to her mime roots.

all objets are slowly hand-built - pinching, coiling, carving - allowing the clay to gesture, curve, and flow as it wants.

serena currently resides in los angeles, california. 

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serena was the inaugural artist for the 1000Vases online gallery.

recent exhibitions:

TERRA • Los Angeles • September 27 to November 24, 2024 • Two Faced Gallery

1000Vases • Milan • April 15 to 23, 2023 • Fondazione Sozzani / Milan Design Week

1000Vases • Paris • September 8 to 11, 2022 • Galerie Joseph