buried in petals & thorns

Abbey Peters

On view June 26 through August 7, 2026

Referencing domestic spaces, decorative arts, and gardens, my work explores ideas of matrilineal knowledge, concealment, and preservation. I think about secrecy as a tool for survival and resistance, especially in the absence of formal systems of care. Through interactive ceramic forms, I hid items commonly used by myself and people back hundreds of years that may now or one day be illicit: contraceptives, abortifacient herbs, recipes, books, quilts, notes, seeds, etc. Layered floral patterns cover the sculptures, and utilize the usual dismissal of decoration and femininity throughout history to camouflage the contents in plain sight.

In this work, I am exploring decoration and pattern as an opportunity for hidden function––disguising compartments, drawers, or tools within the patterned surface as a coded form of communication. Through the layered patters and varied forms, I am reconsidering how decoration can function not as embellishment, but as a material language rooted in care, resistance, and survival.

How have women offered and received care, protected what they needed to survive, and how can those strategies be reimagined for today, or a distant tomorrow?

Abbey Peters is the Phipps Visiting Assistant Professor of Ceramics, 2026.

buried in petals and thorns is on view alongside Articulations of Care by Ana González Barragán, Singer Visiting Professor