Why do we do what we do?
From mugs to ceramic tableware to mirrors -- the art of sharing food with others, and the rituals, traditions, and conversations that accompany it.
When I started this small business seven years ago, I made mugs for coffee shops. I learned the craft of production pottery in my early twenties but spent the previous decade making individual forms. So, in order to re-familiarize myself with production throwing, or the making of the same form over and over again on the potter’s wheel, I turned many, many mugs. Making functional objects people ritualy use brought me joy. I expanded my art practice to restaurant tableware.
Ceramic tableware is the heart of a communal gathering and meal sharing. So when the San Francisco art gallery Root Division called for art entries for an exhibition entitled “The Art of Sharing: Food, Knowledge, Stories and Space” – which explores the intimate act of preparing and sharing food with others, and the rituals, traditions, and conversations that accompany it – I immediately entered my mirror portals. Because this, in fact, is why I do what I do. It is the heart of my art practice.
Read more in my artist statement below….
Root Division Gallery
March 27- April 18, 2024
Second Saturday Reception: April 13, 2024 | 4-6 pm
1131 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94103
Erin Hupp Artist Statement
Mirror Portals: Shared Reflections at the Dinner Table
In a world with disparate cultural lenses, beliefs and perspectives, this piece celebrates the transformative power of the universal yet profound act of sharing a meal as a moment of reflective connection. The communal experience of a meal offers a rare moment of presence in this rapidly-moving world when these distinctions dissolve, making room for a collective experience of nourishment, both physical and emotional. The textural, ceramic mirrored plates are portals that focus your attention on the unique perspectives brought to the dinner table as well as self-observation of our own cultural lenses and beliefs. As you view this piece, shift your position relative to the mirror to find the face of your partner, friend, or stranger standing next to you reflected in the mirror. Then shift your view back to your own reflection. The mirrored portals are a symbolic bridge between the external dining conversation and the internal landscape of individual introspection and the shared experiences that unite us.
By portraying dinner plates as portals, this piece encourages viewers to reflect on the duality of the dining experience, where the collective joy of shared moments and discussion coexist with the intimate exploration of one's own thoughts and emotions.