The Soft Machine Gallery presented the work of sister “foodies” with “Secret Ingredient.”

The culinary and pop art-inspired pieces created by Katie Hovencamp and Christina Dietz aren’t for the stomach, but are for digestion by the mind.

The works bring irony and dark humor as a means of critique by the artists, who explore themes of domesticity and womanhood as defined by a patriarchal society.

Among Hovencamp’s cast-iron sculptures is “Hoagie Missile” (2021; cast iron and steel, 4.5 in. x 11 in. x 11 in.).

“Recently, I have been working on a series of ‘Food Weapons’ that would come out of your kitchen if you decided that your kitchen turned into a war room,” says Hovencamp. “I work in a lot of heavy industrial materials like iron and steel.”

Cast from a stale loaf of bread affixed with cardboard wings and Great Stuff foam to seal gaps, the sculpture is mounted on a white-painted steel target, edged like a doily.

She employs a variety of other materials and found objects for other works, including wood spikes on a rolling pin for “Rollout,” and cast resin, steel and wood for “Happy Thanksgiving.”

The holiday turkey sculpture revolves on its steel serving platter while looking ready to launch three missiles from its hindquarters.

Dietz’s artwork and installations complement Hovencamp’s works. Her “Cabbage Pile” (2021; paper, masking tape, glue and acrylic, 5 in. x 7 in. each) is 11 cabbage sculptures grouped near Hovencamp’s turkey rocket launcher.

“Tear Milkers” (2016; calf teats, found syrup buckets, 3-D printed pieces, wood, conduit, copper tubing, flanges, 37 in. x 11in. x 32 in.) by Dietz is three benches where one could sit, place a pair of plastic receptacles over the eyes and “milk” the tears with plastic calf-feeding teats into a pail.

“I get a lot of inspiration from agricultural processes and traditional food-making processes like pickling, canning and home-cooking,” says the artist. “I’m interested in combining those things with the body.”

She says her artwork explores “how our bodies come into consumerism, especially women’s bodies.”

“Self Preservation” is a video projection into a vintage clawfoot bathtub of Deitz soaking amongst a tubful of floating pickles. The performance art video footage is by Michelle Nash.

Hovencamp received a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University and master’s degree at The Pennsylvania State University (2014). She teaches at Northampton Community College, NCC’s Fabrication and has a studio at the Banana Factory.

Dietz was Hovencamp’s introductory sculpture student while at Penn State. She received a BFA in sculpture from The Pennsylvania State University (2017). Deitz teaches woodworking at a K-8 school in Morristown, N.J.

Owners Eva Di Orio and John Mortensen opened The Soft Machine Gallery in 2010 at 15th and Green streets, Allentown. Seeking a larger space for exhibits, they relocated in 2022 to Ridge Avenue.

“The title ‘Secret Ingredient’ is something that could be really mysterious. It could be something insidious. It could be something really sweet. You don’t necessarily know,” Hovencamp says, adding, “So, all the pieces in the show can have a more complex meaning than what meets the eye initially.”

“Secret Ingredient” concluded Dec. 17.

Soft Machine Gallery, 101 Ridge Avenue, Allentown. Gallery hours: 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. Wednesday, noon - 2 p.m. Thursday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. Saturday, or by appointment. Closed Sunday - Tuesday. 484-714-4229, info@softmachinegallery.com

“Gallery View” is a column about artists, exhibitions and galleries. To request coverage, email: Paul Willistein, Focus editor, pwillistein@tnonline.com