maxwell mustardo's vases reimagine ancient roman amphorae

anthropophorae series offers a visceral connection to the past

Maxwell Mustardo’s Anthropophorae series reimagines ancient Roman amphorae, amplifying their understated charm and anthropomorphic qualities to craft fluorescent vessels that resonate with contemporary sensibilities. Stripped of decorative flourishes, the artist’s forms focus on raw materiality, tactile immediacy, and the quiet humanity of the maker’s touch — offering a visceral connection to the past while reframing its relevance for today through a playful lens.

The Anthropophorae move beyond the grandeur of the painted Greek amphorae that came first, instead embracing the approachable awkwardness and sensual materiality of their Roman counterparts. With an unassuming honesty, the whimsical objects represent the anthropomorphic qualities of the historical ceramics, rendered in fuzzy PVC coats that seem to glimmer with life.

all images courtesy of Maxwell Mustardo

Maxwell Mustardo crafts vessels from pvc and stone

‘By working within simple constraints, such as the format of the mug, vase, or torus, I explore orchestrating elements of surface, form, materiality, and function. Many projects revolve around broad, reverential notions of the vessel, the body, and language,’ shares Maxwell Mustardo, reflecting on his experimental practice. With Anthropophorae, the New Jersey-based artist engages with ceramics as a polyphonic medium to engage deeply with historical and cultural narratives, treating the vessel not merely as an object, but as an animate participant in human history. The series reflects a reverence for tradition, paired with a drive to disrupt and reframe it as a symbol of human culture with new perspectives.

Built from aggregated stoneware clay, the pieces undergo a transformative process as the surfaces are laboriously sandblasted and wet-exfoliated, revealing a moss-like, tactile complexity. After firing, a PVC-based coating — applied in dozens of layers — heightens this effect, lending the works a supple, organic, and almost sensual quality.

Maxwell Mustardo reimagines classical forms

The juxtaposition of ceramic and synthetic materials creates a provocative tension, while color sharpens this dialogue. The pigments create bold silhouettes and emphasize a structural drama reminiscent of the classical vessels the Anthropophorae draw inspiration from, leading the eye across fuzzy surfaces that seem to breathe and shift in the light. ‘My use of specific colors is often arbitrary and irrational, employed largely for sensual effect. That said, conceptually, the pigment’s relatively apparent non-ceramic-ness is used to further alienate and complicate an object’s relationship with material and functionality,’ Maxwell Mustardo adds. With a liminal quality, this interplay presents forms that are at once familiar yet alien, functional yet symbolic.

Anthropophorae amplifies the understated charm of ancient Roman amphorae