Max Chen 
V.P.Lamp, 2025 
Stoneware ceramic, white glaze, polyester mesh fabric, LED bulb, mixed hardware 
10 x 8.5 x 12 inches
 
This lamp riffs on what might be the most famous penis in the world, Michelangelo’s David, whose viral moment began centuries before the internet. His lower half is reimagined in ceramic, with mesh gym shorts as the lampshade and an LED bulb casting a glow from beneath. The shorts don’t conceal so much as they entice, echoing today’s obsession with celebrity VPLs and the performance of modesty. It plays with the nature of light itself—what’s illuminated versus what’s left unseen—and how mystery can be more seductive than exposure. Irreverent yet thoughtful, the piece turns a timeless icon into a modern reflection on desire, gaze, and the art of the tease.
 
Max Chen is a Brooklyn-based ceramic artist and designer whose work explores the intersection of modern design, humor, and cultural commentary. Drawing from a background in the furniture and interiors industry, Max approaches ceramics as both functional object and sculptural statement. His pieces often reinterpret classical forms through a contemporary lens, using light, texture, and irony to examine how beauty, desire, and design interact in everyday life.
 
Photo by Aaron S Cheung, Esto.