Roberto Lugo’s Monumental Sculptures In New York Celebrate Puerto Rican Heritage

Prescience is among ceramicist Roberto Lugo’s myriad talents. In mid-April, New York City hit a record-breaking 90 degrees—the first of a predicted 20 days to do so this summer—and just two weeks later, Lugo’s 15-foot-tall fire hydrant was installed in Madison Square Park. Ok, made from resincoated foam, his doesn’t spray any water. But it is a cool and refreshing take on the symbol of a source of relief for city dwellers during sweltering summers, one that links to Lugo’s childhood in North Philadelphia, where, as a first-generation Puerto Rican American, he and his dad would sometimes wash up at a hydrant, which led to his first piece as a budding teen artist being a ceramic soap dispenser in that shape. Lugo has come a long way since then—the Rome Prize and Heinz Award among his achievements—but “Alfarero del Barrio (Village Potter),” the MSP installation, reflects on and celebrates his heritage, like all his work. Joining Para Los Días Caliente (This Is For The Hot Ones) is Capicú de Cariño (I Heard It Both Ways), his 20-foot-tall urn that is hand-painted with portraits of such Puerto Rican luminaries as Sonia Sotomayor and Lin-Manuel Miranda and has a 7-foot-tall archway carved out of the center. “My art is for everyone,” Lugo says. “Visitors can walk inside the vase and become one of its vignettes—proving how everyone can contribute greatly to the world.