Aphrodite

About this work

Aphrodite Ceramic, gold leaf, black glaze, engraved inscription This sculpture is part of my ongoing series of contemporary Venuses, where the female body becomes an archaeological fragment and a vessel of memory. The surface is entirely covered in genuine gold leaf, transforming clay into a precious yet fragile skin. A black glazed insert, engraved with the Latin word Annulata ("erased", "made void"), interrupts the golden body like an ancient inscription carved into stone. The contrast between luminous gold and deep black evokes the tension between beauty and loss, permanence and disappearance. Rather than celebrating the ideal body, this Venus preserves the traces of time, identity, and human experience. Inspired by classical sculpture and archaeology, the work invites the viewer to reflect on what survives through history: not perfection, but memory.

About the artist

Alessandra D'Aniello is an Italian ceramic artist and architect based in Naples. Her work transforms clay and gold leaf into poetic objects inspired by archaeology, memory, and Mediterranean culture.

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