ANNIE ALARCÓN: Forms of Devotion

Catherine and Robert Palmer Gallery

ANNIE ALARCÓN
Forms of Devotion

March 14–May 7, 2026

In this exhibition, Annie Alarcón presents a body of ceramic sculptures that move between vessel, body, and offering. Rooted in personal writings, sketches, and ritual practice, the works trace an intimate emotional landscape shaped by memory, grief, and care. Drawing inspiration from ancient Greek perfume bottles, Alarcón treats the vessel as a keeper of the intangible, holding what is invisible, fleeting, and impossible to fully contain.

Perfume becomes a guiding metaphor: a presence that lingers without form, deeply personal yet shared through ritual. Alarcón’s porcelain sculptures echo this tension. Their translucent surfaces are engraved with fragments of memory and emotion, bearing the marks of a process that is both deliberate and devotional. Some forms stand firmly, others appear precarious, reflecting the unstable ground of emotional experience and the effort required to tend to it.

Influenced by the teachings of artisan mentors, Alarcón uses traditional ceramic forms as a language through which to explore contemporary inner states. Her vessels do not aim to resolve or stabilize what they hold. Instead, they offer a space for witnessing, for slowing down and acknowledging what we carry.

Together, these works invite viewers into a quiet encounter with fragility, ritual, and the act of care itself.

About Annie Alarcón

Annie Alarcón (born 1985, Ensenada) is a ceramic artist and cultural manager based in Tijuana, Mexico. She is the creative director of Lustre Estudio, a space dedicated to the teaching, production, and dissemination of contemporary ceramics.

Alongside her artistic practice, Alarcón has played an active role in cultural organizing. She has produced talks, exhibitions, and workshops, and is the founder of the New Wave Ceramic Market, an initiative that has completed eight editions promoting the appreciation and circulation of ceramic work. Since 2022, she has co-created four artist residencies and curated Cerámica Bajacaliforniana (Mexicali, 2024), an exhibition highlighting regional ceramic practices.

Alarcón’s sculptural work combines traditional ceramic techniques with experimental surface treatments and decorative processes. She was selected for the National Ceramic Award in Tlaquepaque (2022) and has participated in group exhibitions including Invisible Traditions and Vibrante at The Front Arte y Cultura (San Ysidro, 2024).

In 2025, she took part in the Here and There artist residency, culminating in a solo exhibition at Bread & Salt in San Diego. That same year, her work was included in Dissipation Point, presented during Stockholm Craft Week in Sweden.

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