Curatorial Statement
Collection posted online: Monday, February 13, 2023 at 10 am MT
Allee Etheridge is a functional potter from Dallas, Texas. She received her undergraduate degree in Creative Writing with minors in Studio Art and Japanese from Southern Methodist University. After graduating, she moved to the almost microscopic island of Yuge in Ehime Prefecture, Japan, to teach English. She lived there for two years, and while in the area, spent time learning about and appreciating both the Bizen wood-fired pottery and the Tobe porcelain that were produced near her.
Since returning to the US, Allee has developed her ceramic work both in the functional realm and in the sphere of performance art. She creates pots that bring beauty into everyday life, and she also produces large installation/performance pieces at the local renaissance festival.
Allee has exhibited her work all across the US. Most recently, she moved from the big city to an extremely rural area of East Texas, where she and her husband are starting a farm. She makes her pots there in her home studio.
Throughout time, dining has always been viewed as a sensual experience. Food and drink ignite the senses, and the flowers decorating the dining table are literally the sex organ of plants. By drawing graphic and erotic sexual scenes on food and flower vessels, I seek to highlight the sensuality inherent in the dining experience. In addition, I throw almost all my work on the potter’s wheel, which is in itself a sensual act of movement and touch: the clay slips through my fingers and responds to my caress. The sexual imagery couples the slippery sensuality of creation and the aromatic experience of eating. Furthermore, both sharing a meal and having sex are highly intimate experiences; I combine both acts into one in all my work.
-Allee Etheridge