Claudia Ficca: Meals Interrupted

AL DENTE - Digital c-print, mounted on plexiglass.

48" x 72" edition of 3

32" x 28" edition of 7

CHARRED- Digital c-print, mounted on plexiglass.

48" x 72" edition of 3

32" x 28" edition of 7

HONEYED - Digital c-print, mounted on plexiglass.

48" x 72" edition of 3

32" x 28" edition of 7

SOAKED - Digital c-print, mounted on plexiglass.

48" x 72" edition of 3

32" x 28" edition of 7

TOSSED - Digital c-print, mounted on plexiglass.

48" x 72" edition of 3

32" x 28" edition of 7

A photography project by Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca

Husband-and-wife Davide Luciano and Claudia Ficca have teamed up to create Meals Interrupted, a photography series of dining tables abruptly disrupted by various events, namely, a bee swarm, a devastating fire, a full-blown cafeteria food fight, a calculated mobster hit, and a heavy rainfall. Each shot vividly captures the disappointment and sense of abandonment that evidently accompanies a gathering that is suddenly and unexpectedly ended.

The scenes were shot in both NYC and Montréal, the artists’ hometown. Luciano did the photography and Ficca handled the food styling. The couple wanted to tell a story through food while challenging themselves to deal with unusual conditions: “The idea of working directly with bees was very daunting at first, but once we were in the apiary and the bees were buzzing all around us, it turned out to be very soothing,” says Ficca.

“When Davide told me I had to burn all the props, I was shocked. This would be a first for me. I had no idea it would be so liberating!” says NYC-based prop stylist Maeve Sheridan, who was a key player on this project.

Davide Luciano is a fine-art photographer and filmmaker based in NYC. He creates large-scale photographic prints that are cinematic in scope and compelling in content. The photography is detailed and vibrant with amazing surrealist qualities, which are elaborately staged.

Luciano’s work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in Canada and the United States in cities such as New York, Toronto, Montréal and Washington. He has won numerous awards, including an award of excellence from the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York City. His work has been featured on The New York Times, Yahoo, NBC, Good Morning America, and published in countless international publications such as Vanity Fair Italia, The Independant, Le Monde, and Zoom Magazine.

Claudia Ficca’s journey into professional food styling and photography started in her native Montréal. After getting her BA at Concordia University and taking intensive photography classes, she immediately knew her focus would be food photography. She decided to move to NYC where she received her food styling education by apprenticing under some of the city’s best. Claudia has since photographed and styled everything from advertising to editorial pieces for clients such as Cherry Bombe Magazine, VOGUE TV, and Food & Wine Magazine.

This is the couple’s second artistic project together. Their first body of work is titled Potholes.

Selected Press: