Detail of Seeing Red (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and PPOW, shared with permissionFrom Porcelain Buttercream to Bruises, Jessica Stoller Examines the Gendered BodyMarch 5, 2025ArtGrace EbertThe early 1780s produced a medical training tool that today seems unusually macabre and unsettling: the Anatomical Venus. A waxen model with real human hair and strings of pearls around her neck, the reclined figure appeared incredibly realistic, although pulling back the plate on its abdomen or chest revealed a series of internal organs and systems. As Ian Shank writes, modern viewers see the Anatomical Venus as discordant given the tension between the figures idealized beautyand its inherent sensualityand its function as an educational model. Untitled (crown) (2021), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 24 x 16 x 2 inches. Photo by JSP Art PhotographyJessica Stoller takes this dissonance as a starting point in Seeing Red, a floor-based sculpture of more than 150 individual ceramic objects. Atop the square tableaux are oversized white orbs that overshadow the mottled pink base. Fragmented body parts, seashells, leaves, a bent coat hanger, snakes, pottery shards, and more spread throughout.Reflecting on the continued push to strip protections for bodily autonomy in the U.S., Seeing Red separates the female form into distinctive parts and places them at the lowest position possible. As the oppressive pearls loom over the rest of the components, the unnerving work directly challenges who has a right to self-determination and control over their body.The grotesque and disturbing play an important role throughout Stollers practice as she frequently incorporates human anatomy with porcelain and ceramic traditions. Untitled (close up #3), for example, features delicate pink and purple blossoms that frame what appears to be a series of large, purple bruises.Similarly, Untitled (sugar still life) comprises a sweet spread that stretches across an elaborate display. Tucked in the seemingly saccharine work, though, are unsavory elements like a skeletal hand reaching from piped ribbons and medical devices stabbed into various confections.Seeing Red (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inchesRebelling against patriarchal priorities, Stoller continually confronts romanticized notions of the body through surreal, even monstrous compositions. Instead, her works are bold and unabashed as they examine the feminine figure, rooting out stereotypes and historical injustices while emphasizing the potency of the unseemly.Many of the works shown here are on view in New York for Stollers solo show Split, which continues through April 5 at PPOW. Find more from the artist on Instagram.Detail of Seeing Red (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inchesSkin to Scale (2023), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 22 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 2 1/2 inchesUntitled (close up #3) (2020), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, wood, 19 x 15 x 2 inchesSilphium (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 19 x 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inchesYellow Wallpaper (2025), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 23 x 17 1/2 x 3 inchesUntitled (sugar still life) (2018), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, enamel, and wood, 60 x 36 x 22 inches. Photo by JSP Art PhotographyDetail of Untitled (sugar still life) (2018), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, enamel, and wood, 60 x 36 x 22 inches. Photo by JSP Art PhotographyNext article