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Luciano Fabro
Demetra (Demeter), 1987

Fabro’s sculpture takes as its subject the Greek goddess of the earth, who symbolized human procreation and the fertility of nature. Demeter was considered a kind-hearted deity, cherished for her generosity of spirit in assuring the growth and harvest of crops. The Greeks believed that her grief at losing her daughter Persephone — who was taken to live with Hades, the god of the underworld, for three months each year — was the reason for the existence of winter.

Into each of two slabs of stone the artist has carved one of the lips of the goddess. Her sensuous, inviting lips appear to welcome interaction, but the tonguelike loop of steel cable emerging from between them prevents it. The wish for contact with the ideal represented by the goddess is impossible to fulfill.

Artwork Info

Artwork title
Demetra (Demeter)
Artist name
Luciano Fabro
Date created
1987
Classification
sculpture
Medium
stone and steel cable
Dimensions
44 3/4 in. × 79 3/4 in. × 31 in. (113.67 cm × 202.57 cm × 78.74 cm)
Date acquired
1987
Credit
Collection SFMOMA
Gift of Robin Quist in memory of George Quist
Copyright
© Estate of Luciano Fabro
Permanent URL
https://www.sfmoma.org/artwork/87.97
Artwork status
Not on view at this time.

Audio Stories

How did Fabro’s Italian heritage influence this work?

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NARRATOR:  

This is Demetra, by Luciano Fabro. You might wonder why a loop of steel cable joins these two enormous blocks of stone. But look a little closer. Carved into the stone, you’ll see a gigantic pair of sensuous, faintly smiling lips. Fabro’s work, though utterly contemporary, is also strongly linked to Italy’s classical past. Gary Garrels, Curator at the Museum.  

 

GARY GARRELS:  

I don’t believe that there is a kind of universal, international, contemporary style of art. In fact, Italian art tends to have qualities that are quite Italian. The Italian sense of poetry, of allegory, of myth, is deeply, deeply embedded in the culture. 

 

NARRATOR:  

Demetra, the goddess of the earth in ancient Roman mythology, symbolizes the fertility of the whole natural order. According to legend, her daughter Persephone was taken from her to live in the underworld for half of every year. Demetra’s grief during those six months brought winter to the planet.  

In this sculpture, Fabro seems to suggest that these stony, inaccessible and disembodied lips are all that remain of the goddess. Even if we wanted to approach her for a kiss, we have become too alienated by modern life to hope for such intimacy with the natural world.  

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Other Works by Luciano Fabro

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