
By Leslie Virostek
Ceramicist and sculptor Tom Zaccheo is on a roll.
In the first half of 2024, his ceramic piece “Yellow Begonia” was selected for juried member exhibits at the New Britain Museum of American Art and the Hill-Stead Museum. He won third-place honors at the latter. Then, in the fall, Central’s Chen Art Gallery hosted a 177-piece retrospective exhibit of his work.
In appreciation for the university courses and faculty mentorship that have enabled him to hone his craft over the last decade, Zaccheo donated all proceeds from the show — some $8,700 — to the ceramics/sculpture program.
Now he’s had a contemporary art piece accepted for a juried show of the Hudson Valley Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Peekskill, N.Y. The exhibit, titled "So you think I’m too old to…!” runs from Feb. 1 to May 3 and highlights the work of artists who are age 62 and older.
Only 71 pieces selected from more than 1,000 submissions will be featured in the show. Zaccheo’s piece is a ceramic, wood, and acrylic wall hanging called “Caged Colors #3.” The 92-year-old artist created it a few years ago for a course he was taking at Central.
“Each semester I set a goal for myself, and this particular semester I wanted to explore ceramics in a contemporary vein,” he explains. “I did it because I thought it was a new way of expressing myself in ceramics, and it was a learning experience.”
The piece’s frame-like rectangular shapes overlap, creating various interior geometric shapes that contain the colors of green, red, blue, and yellow. Its textured “crackle” glaze and overall impression of asymmetry evoke a sense of pushing against boundaries.
“We are all ‘caged’ by gender, profession, education, trade, etc., and sometimes those stereotypes restrict our freedom because of the conformity expected of us in our various roles,” Zaccheo explains. “I do think it’s important to get out of that role that you’re assigned.”
The concept of the piece has special resonance for the nonagenarian Zaccheo. He is a long-retired gastroenterologist who refuses to be contained by anyone’s image of what an “old person” should be.
When Zaccheo was a practicing physician, ceramics was a stress-reducing hobby. It has since become a passion and second career. As he began taking courses at Central and making art alongside students several decades younger, he realized that doing what he loved — creating art — also happened to deconstruct stereotypes, both for his classmates and for his audiences.
“I didn’t start out to be a pioneer or example for others,” he says. “I started out to enjoy what I love doing. And I do think that I’ve given some inspiration to others who see that an older person can still function and have good ideas.”
Zaccheo, who takes at least one course per semester and plays tennis three times a week, also serves on the advisory council of For All Ages. It is a nonprofit dedicated to "connecting the generations and inspiring action to end loneliness, reduce ageism, and improve mental, physical, and social health in Connecticut.” The organization is affiliated with the CT Collaborative to End Loneliness.
Zaccheo notes that our youth-centered culture tends to sideline older people.
“We have to sort of push against this idea because we do have a place in society,” he says. “My feeling is that I try to influence the microcosm in which I live: My family, my children, my grandchildren, and people I associate with.”
The Hudson Valley MOCA exhibit acknowledges the fact that many worthy artists either don’t begin or don’t reach their prime until they are older.
Invoking a famous example, Zaccheo quips, “I would like to be the ‘Grandpa Moses’ of ceramics.”

"Caged Colors #3" by Tom Zaccheo. (Photo submitted)