Everson Museum of Art Presents Iconoclasts: The Art of Laurent Craste
Syracuse, NY - The Everson Museum of Art is proud to present Iconoclasts, marking the American museum debut of French-born Canadian ceramist Laurent Craste. Known for transforming refined porcelain into vessels of satire, critique, and violence, Craste’s work challenges the very traditions of beauty, wealth, and power that porcelain has long represented.
Over the past decade, Craste has subjected his ornate vases and urns to acts of destruction, pierced by arrows, crushed by baseball bats, impaled with crowbars, merging technical mastery with social commentary. “When I hit a beautiful porcelain vase with a baseball bat, I provoke a visual shock,” says Craste. “There is a contrast between the beauty and luxury of the objects and the violence that is submitted to. I want to make people conscious of the fragility of our world.” Porcelain, once more valuable than gold, has long symbolized the wealth and privilege of society’s elite. By weaponizing that very material, Craste exposes the fragility of power and class, echoing centuries of overindulgence and downfall, from Marie Antoinette’s gilded empire to contemporary displays of luxury.
Working in collaboration with Garth Johnson, the Everson’s Paul Phillips and Sharon Sullivan Curator of Ceramics, Craste has paired his works with selections from the Museum’s storied ceramics collection. Visitors will encounter Craste’s satirical creations alongside rare French porcelains and even a 2,500-year-old Greek Olympic vase, illuminating the continuum of beauty, symbolism, and status across time.
“Even though people often dismiss decorative porcelain vases as being merely ‘pretty,’ the history of porcelain is filled with drama and intrigue — which fuels Laurent Craste’s work,” says Johnson.
Among the highlights is Iconocraste à la barre à clou II (2019), a recent Everson acquisition featuring a gilded porcelain vase pierced by a crowbar. The piece embodies Craste’s deft balance of humor and critique, turning destruction into commentary.
Laurent Craste: Iconoclasts is made possible with support from the Winifred & De Villo Sloan, Jr. Charitable Fund, Hohmann Gallery, and the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec. The Everson is supported by the General Operating Support program, a regrant program of the County of Onondaga with the support of County Executive J. Ryan McMahon II and the Onondaga County Legislature, administered by CNY Arts; and the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.
Exhibition Dates: November 15, 2025 – May 24, 2026
Location: Everson Museum of Art, 401 Harrison Street, Syracuse, NY
https://everson.org/explore/upcoming-exhibitions/laurent-craste-iconoclasts/
Installation View at HOHMANN, Palm Desert
Setting up the Everson Museum Exhibition