Standing as a dramatic stylistic and thematic departure from the blue and white porcelain works, Last Dance (2024) by Alex Hodge viscerally confronts contemporary environmental and political crises. Forming a fiery diptych alongside Missing Muse, this 10x6-inch ceramic wall sculpture features hand-sculpted flame-like contours saturated in fiery orange and yellow glazes. Enveloped by blazing turmoil, a dark contorted figure twists to grasp another pair of hands reaching from the frame's edge. The piece poignantly embodies the dissonance required to hold onto human connection and community amidst chaos, while the title ominous hints at an impending finality. Hand-built using slab techniques and decorated with rich underglaze painting and detailed carving, this artwork delivers an urgent, light-responsive statement on environmental vulnerability and human solidarity.
The flaming duo of Last Dance and Missing Muse draws attention to our current political and environmental climate. In Last Dance, we see the figure is not alone, as another pair of hands is grasped at the edge of the frame. Surrounded by calamity, the dancer twists and contorts to reach for another. She embodies the dissonance required to find joy and community in all circumstances, while the title suggests an inevitable, impending end.
The Eat What's on Your Plate series is comprised of wall plates that draw on the history of blue and white pottery as symbols of wealth, elitism and consumerism. The plates beckon the viewer with brash red text reminiscent of Barbara Kruger’s work. The title phrase is a play on words in several capacities, directing the audience to deal with what is at hand, while simultaneously admonishing the act of taking from others. They are all hand built using the slab method, and utilize underglaze painting, carving and transfers.
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Ceramic Wall Sculpture - Last Dance, 2024. By Alex Hodge
Hodge studied and graduated from the University of Georgia with a degree in Ceramics, with notable exhibitions such as Unsung Muses and Eyes That Bind, graduating summa cum laude and receiving honors such as the Outstanding Undergraduate Award. Here, clay became the conduit that allowed her to speak of her experience and, more importantly, her frustrations. Always curious to acquire more knowledge and skills, she pursued a Master of Fine Arts degree at the University of Miami. There she obtained the summer scholarship and the William Oberman Award, and graduated summa cum laude. During this time, she moved from expressions of anger to prioritizing love between women, the deep well of internal feminine landscapes and the historical exploration of women in relation to the present through ceramic material. Since then, her works have been exhibited at the Morean Arts Center, Arts Benicia and the Imurj Gallery, among others. She currently resides in rural Georgia, where she transforms her stories into sculptures that reveal what has been historically hidden.
