Eric Serritella

Born in 1963 in Ellenville NY

Lives and works in Chapel Hill, North Carolina 

Eric Serritella is a trompe l’oeil artist specializing in hand-carved ceramic sculptures transformed into birch, charred and weathered logs. His one-of-a-kind sculptures are internationally recognized for their hyper-realism, and have been exhibited, awarded and collected on five continents for their exquisite organic design and incredibly lifelike textures.

Serritella says, “Art is an arena for connection, resonance and reverberation. I create each sculpture as a conduit to emotion through inquiry, recognition and familiarity. Through aging and decay, I explore how nature maintains its splendors with tenacity and triumphs of existence, despite the disregard we humans show her. I appreciate how ceramic mirrors the environment’s fragility and durability—easily damaged if disrespected and yet invincible in its inherent beauty and longevity. Each organic creation has a life of its own that fosters awareness and influences viewer behavior toward the environment. Through this consciousness, viewers acquire new appreciations and ways of seeing, and can thus choose to walk with softer steps. 

Serritella’s works have been contributed to over 100 exhibitions and have been shown with de Kooning, Picasso, Tiffany, Woodman and Voulkos, among others.  Pieces are included in major museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Carnegie Museum of Art, and Mint Museum. He was recognized by the James Renwick Alliance as the 2016 Distinguished Artist in ceramics at the Smithsonian American Art Museum.