Ann Agee (b.1959, Philadelphia) is part of a pioneering generation of feminist ceramicists who engage the ambiguities of fine art, design, and craft; histories of cultural appropriation and exchange; and women’s lived experience. Ann Agee Mfg is the first survey of Agee’s work and will position the factory—the mass production, relationships, labor, and merchandising—as central to her nearly forty-year practice. Curator Jodi Throckmorton has long focused on supporting under-recognized female artists and addressing subjects like aging, parenthood, and equal rights. 

Boxing in the Kitchen, P·P·O·W, New York, September 8–October 8, 2005. Courtesy the artist and P·P·O·W

Pivotal moments in Agee’s formation as a “maker” occurred during her 1991, 1992, and 1998 residencies at the Kohler Company’s Arts/Industry program, a residency operated in collaboration with the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) that puts artists on the factory floor. In 1991, Agee produced a large-scale ceramic tile mural with portraits of factory workers. Reconnecting with these workers is a significant component of this survey’s preparation. 

Arts/Industry artist-in-residence Ann Agee paints tiles for the Sheboygan Men’s Room in the Kohler Co. Pottery, 1999. Courtesy John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC). Photo: Kohler Co.

Ann Agee, Gross Domestic Product, 2010. Porcelain with steel armature. Courtesy the artist and P·P·O·W, New York

At JMKAC, Throckmorton will bring together Agee’s ceramic sculptures and installations, including important institutional loans; a selection of rarely seen drawings; and a robust grouping of her current work, which foregrounds her continued experimentation with clay. True to the artist’s way of working, each series will be considered its own environment—with Agee’s handmade wallpaper and specifically fabricated furniture further framing her worldview for visitors. This exhibition will be accompanied by a catalogue featuring interviews with factory workers and newly commissioned essays that situate Agee’s practice in relation to industry and craft, as well as other contemporary feminist ceramicists and sculptors.

Jodi Throckmorton joined the John Michael Kohler Arts Center (JMKAC) in 2022 as Chief Curator. On the senior leadership team, she spearheads the center’s exhibition and collection strategies, working with the Executive Director and staff to facilitate curatorial vision and artist programs, including the signature Arts/Industry residency in partnership with Kohler Co. In 2024, Throckmorton co-curated Pao Houa Her: The Imaginative Landscape, including installations at locations throughout Sheboygan. She was previously Curator of Contemporary Art at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA, Philadelphia). There, she curated a retrospective exhibition and accompanying publication, Joan Semmel: Skin in the Game (2021), and co-curated Rina Banerjee: Make Me a Summary of the World (2018) with Lauren Dickens. Prior to this, she was Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Ulrich Museum of Art at Wichita State University and Associate Curator at the San Jose Museum of Art. 

Joyce Chung, Dave Kyu, Asian Arts Initiative