Robert Raphael

I draw on the complex history of decorative art. Decoration is perceived to be superficial, but I believe its strength lies in its seductive nature. I extract moments from this history including Classicism, architecture, pattern and decoration, and the Weiner Werkstätte. I conflate these disparate histories to create my language of objects. “Debbie” is a work from a series of ceramic phalluses, drawing on an element of ancient Greek hermae—statues featuring the head of Hermes atop a limbless rectangular column decorated with an anatomically correct phallus. I am, fascinated by the magic imbued in these objects, which were believed to have apotropaic powers of protection, I make them for my own protection, the protection of others, and in memoriam for people who could have used protection. Clay and the process ceramics are equally my subject matter as any ideas I bring to the material. I intentionally and often masochistically choose to push the physical limits of the process. I coat my sculptures with thickly glazed surfaces while allowing the material to contribute to the making process through warping, cracking and other chemical changes that occur during the firing process.
< Shop More Artists < Main Shop


The Filters you have chosen do not return any results. Please modify your filter selection.

Did you Know?

50% of your purchase directly supports the artist, and 50% of your purchase supports the operations of The Clay Studio, a nonprofit that serves 35,000 people, including 2,000 underserved school children, each year.

Learn More about supporting us

Can We Help?

Feel free to contact us Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Naimah Stith, Retail Manager and Gallery Coordinator
naimah@theclaystudio.org | 215-925-3453 x115


Customer service