René Martucci

René Martucci (b. 1960) received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of California, Davis where she studied with Robert Arneson, Manual Neri and Wayne Thiebaud. Working under the rigorous and inspirational guidance of Robert Arneson, Martucci developed impressive craftsmanship and a desire to explore and challenge herself as an artist.

During her undergraduate studies, Martucci sculpted at the renown ceramics lab TB-9 – noted for its influence on ceramic art. There, she spent many hours sharing ideas with other talented students including Lisa Reinertson, Arthur Gonzalez and Tony Natsoulas.

Martucci is a figurative artist, focusing on people and animals as her subject matter. Through her work Martucci seeks to represent thoughts, emotions, simple truths and states of mind. An abiding interest for Martucci remains the retablo – a format stemming from her intrigue with her Italian heritage and from the Mexican culture of her native California – and its format allows her to create intimate, autobiographical narratives. These stories address common, everyday scenes – walking the dog or watering the lawn–stories that are immediately accessible to the viewer.

Much like Roy De Forest, Martucci has become know for her dog imagery. The two artists were featured together in an exhibit named “The Art of the Dog”, presented by the Sacramento Sutter club. Her extensive experience in sculpting dogs has earned her commissions from art collectors including director Penny Marshall, Mary Robinson, the head curator at the Henry E. Huntington Library in San Marino, and Sara Kelly of the Kelly Broadcasting family. Martucci has also designed and created sculptures features on the UC Davis Veterinary Center for Companion Animal Health.

Martucci is also well known for her collaborations with renown feminist artist Judy Chicago. Martucci sculpted eight cat portraits from Chicago’s book Kitty City: A Feline Book of Hours. Chicago painted the final sculptural works. They collaborated over a period of six months, during which Chicago often visited Martucci’s studio in Davis. In October 2005, Martucci attended the unveiling at the Sculptural Objects and Functional Art exhibit in Chicago.