Betty Woodman (American, –2018)

Betty Woodman (American, b.1930) is an important and influential ceramicist, known for her exuberantly colorful and inventive work. Often working with a deconstructed version of the traditional ceramic vessel, her work has ranged from site-specific murals, fragmentary columns, and carpet-like floor pieces. Woodman began her career making functional pottery, and her work has been influenced by historical examples of the medium, including Etruscan and Chinese pottery, among others. She has been associated with the Pattern and Decoration movement of the 1970s.

Born in Norwalk, CT, Woodman studied at the School for American Craftsman in New York from 1948 to 1950. Her work has been exhibited widely, and is represented in museum collections worldwide, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, and the World Ceramic Center in Korea, among several others. She is the recipient of a Fulbright-Hays Scholarship, two National Endowment for the Arts fellowships, and the Rockefeller Foundation Fellow, among other honors.

Timeline

1930
Born in Norwalk, USA
1948–1950
Studied at the School for American Craftsman, Alfred University, Alfred, USA
1966
Fulbright-Hays Scholarship to Florence, Italy
1975
Visiting Artist, New York State College of Ceramics, Alfred University, Alfred, USA
1977
Associate Professor, Fine Arts Department, Scripps College, Claremont, USA
1980
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1986
National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship
1987
Governor’s Award in the Arts, Colorado
1993
Distinguished Research & Creative Lectureship, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
1995
Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Bellagio Study Center, Bellagio, Italy
1978–1998
Professor, Fine Art Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
Visionary Award of The American Craft Museum, New York, USA
2000
Honorary Fellow, National Council of Educators in Ceramic Arts
2004
Premio Internazionale Vietri sul Mare, Fondazione Museo Artistico Industriale, Salerno, Italy
2006
Doctor of Fine Arts Honoris Causa, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design, Halifax, Canada
2007
Doctor of Humane Letters Honoris Causa, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
2008
Lifetime Achievement Award, Brooklyn Museum/Modernism Design Award, Brooklyn, USA
National Academician, National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York, USA
Dunwiddie Prize, National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, New York, USA
2009
Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts, Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, USA
1998–2010
Professor Emeritus, Fine Art Department, University of Colorado, Boulder, USA
Lives and works in New York, USA and Antella, Italy

Exhibitions

2010
Betty Woodman, Locks Gallery, Philadelphia, USA (solo)
Interactions in Clay: Contemporary Explorations of the Collection, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Paintings, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Interactions, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Connecticut, D'Amelio Terras, New York, USA
2009
Compass in Hand: Selections from The Judith Rothschild Foundation Contemporary Drawings Collection, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA
Carla Acardi, Sol LeWitt, Betty Woodman, Galleria Massimo Minini, Brescia, Italy
The Legend of Bud Shark and his Indelible Ink, Museum of Contemporary Art Denver, Denver, USA
Dirt on Delight: Impulses that Form Clay, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, USA; traveled to the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA
Galleria Bagnai, Florence, Italy
Museo Delle Porcellane, Palazzo Pitti, Giardino di Boboli, Florence, Italy (solo)
2008
Betty Woodman: Trois Grandes Dames III, Galerie Besson, London, England (solo)
Conversations in Clay, Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, USA
The 183rd Annual: An Invitational Exhibition of Contemporary American Art, The National Academy Museum, New York, USA
Outsider, Galleria Alessandro Bagnai, Florence, Italy
Contemporary Ceramic Art: A Survey, Harvey/Meadows Gallery, Aspen, USA
Concreta, Palazo Pretorio, Certaldo, Italy
Multi Part Art: Contemporary Art in the Collection, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, USA
New, Novel and Never Shown Before 2008: Recent Gifts to the Collection (Part 1), Racine Art Museum, Racine, USA
Rooms and People, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
2007
Memories, Carl Solway Gallery, Cincinnati, USA (solo)
Betty Woodman: Transcending Boundaries, Gallery Camino Real, Boca Raton, USA (solo)
Marseille Artistes Associés 1977-2007, La Vieille Charité, Marseille, France
The Woodman Family, Biagiotti Progetto Arte, Florence, Italy
Shy Boy, She Devil, and Isis: The Art of Conceptual Craft, Selections from the Wornick Collection, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, USA
An Art of Our Own: Women Ceramicists from the Permanent Collection, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, USA
2006
Hot Off the Press Prints of 2006 From New York Printshops, The Grolier Club, New York, USA
The Bong Show or This is Not a Pipe, Leslie Tonkonow Gallery, New York, USA
Couples Discourse, Palmer Museum of Art, University Park, USA
International Architectural Ceramics, Gimhae Culture Foundation, Clayarch, Gimhae, Korea
Great Pots: The Vessel as Art, 1900-2000; 20th Century Ceramics from The Newark Museum, USB Art Gallery, New York, USA
Somewhere Between Denver and Naples, Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA (solo)
Betty Woodman, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Betty Woodman, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA (solo)
The Bong Show or This is Not a Pipe, Leslie Tonkonow Gallery, New York, USA
2005
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Theatres of Betty Woodman, Museu Nacional do Azulejo, Lisbon, Portugal (solo)
Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (solo)
Il Giardino Dipinto, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, USA (solo)
See the Fine Print: Selected Works From Shark's Ink, Bemis Center for Contemporary Arts, Omaha, USA
Five Presses: Selected Prints, Arvada Center for the Arts & Humanities, Arvada, USA
Shark and His Ink, Exhibitrek, Boulder, USA
Il Giardino Dipinto, Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, USA (solo)
Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (solo)
2004
Picasso to Thiebold: Modern and Contemporary Art from the Collections of Stanford University Alumni and Friends, Iris and B. Gerald Cantor Center for the Visual Arts, Stanford University, Stanford, USA
Art for a Landmine Free World, Vietnam Veteran's of America Foundation, PaceWildenstein, New York, USA
2003
Skowhegan: Faculty Exhibition, Institute of Contemporary Art at Maine, College of Art, Portland, USA
Retrospectacle: 25 Years of Collecting Modern and Contemporary Art, Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA
Floating Time 2003 ¡V Lethe, River of Forgetfulness, Stedelijk Museum voor Hedendaages Kunst, ¡¥sHertogenbosch, The Netherlands
Great Pots: Contemporary Ceramics from Function to Fantasy, Newark Museum, Newark, USA
The Legacy of Modern Ceramic Art, Part II: Modern Ceramic Art from an International Perspective, Museum of Modern Ceramic Art, Gifu, Japan
Shared Passion: Sara and David Lieberman Collection of Contemporary Ceramics and Art, Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, USA
Clay Works: American Ceramics from the Everson Museum of Art, Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, USA
Recent Work, Frank Lloyd Gallery, Santa Monica, USA (solo)
Souvenirs, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
2002
Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, USA (solo)
Two Bronze Benches and Four Ceramic Pictures of Korean Paintings, Montclair Art Museum, Montclair, USA (solo)
Contemporary American Ceramics, 1950-1990: A Survey of American Objects and Vessels, Aichi Preferctural Ceramic Museum, Aichi; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; Iberaki Prefectural Ceramic Museum, Iberaki; Nilgata Prefectural Museum of Art, Nilgata; Setagaya Art Musem, Tokyo; Fukuoka Prefectural Museum of Art, Fukuoka, Japan
The Artful Teapot: 20th Century Expressions from the Kamm Collection, The American Center for Wine, Food & The Arts, Napa, USA; Montgomery Museum of Fine Arts, Montgomery, USA; George R. Gardiner Museum of Fine Arts, Toronto, Canada; Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, USA; Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, USA; Mint Museum of Craft + Design, Charlotte, USA
Gifts in Honor of the 125th Anniversary, Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, USA
Prints from Shark's Ink., Flanders Graphics, Minneapolis, USA
Shark's Ink., 1976-2001, Gallery of Contemporary Art, UCCs, Colorado Springs, USA
2001
Sur la Table, Kraushaar Galleries, New York, USA
A Ceramic Continuum: 50 Years of the Archie Bray Influence, Holter Museum of Art, Helena, USA
Snake in the Garden: Contemporary Approaches to Slipware, Aberystwyth Arts Centre, University of Wales, Cardiff, Wales
World Ceramic Exposition, World Ceramic Centre, Ichon, Korea
Beauty without Regrets, Bellas Artes Gallery, Santa Fe, USA
USA Clay, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington D.C.
Le Cirva à 15 ans, Galerie d'art Conseil Génèrale des Bouches-du-Rhone, Aix-en-Provence, France
Betty Woodman, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
2000
Betty Woodman & Robert Barni: due e vasi, Centro D'Arte La Loggia, Monterfiridolfi, Italy
Pots Paper Prints, Mizel Arts Center at the JCC, Denver, USA (solo)
Clay, Bronze, Paper, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
A Conversation with Pat Steir, Art Resources Transfer, New York, USA (solo)
Works from the 1980s, Franklin Parrasch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Gallerymateria (with Peter Voulkos), Scottsdale, USA
1999
Blanden Memorial Art Museum, Fort Dodge, USA (solo)
Recent Work of Prints and Vases, Bethel College, St. Paul, USA (solo)
1996–1998
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Provincial Museum voor Moderne Kunst, Oostende, Belgium
Fundaçào Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, Portugal
Museé d'Art Contemporain, Dunkerque, France (solo)
New Jersey Center for Visual Arts, Summit, USA (solo)
1997
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
1995
Denver Art Museum, Denver, USA (solo)
International Museum of Ceramics, Faenza, Italy
1994
Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (solo)
Carin Delcourt van Krimpen Gallery, Amsterdam, The Netherlands (solo)
1993
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Il Giardino Dipinto, Het Kruithuis Den Bosch, The Netherlands (solo)
Barney Wycoff Gallery, Aspen, USA (solo)
1992
Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford, USA (solo)
Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia, USA (solo)
1991
Betty Woodman: Works in Clay, Johnson County Community College, Gallery of Art, Oakland Park, USA (solo)
Opera Selecta: The Work of Betty Woodman (1975-1990), Museé des Arts Modernes, Aix-le-Bain, France
1990
Francesca Pia Gallery, Berne, Switzerland (solo)
Recent Work, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
1989
Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, USA (solo)
Unique Porcelains, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
1988
Recent Work, Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Lobby Project: Betty Woodman/Three Palace Matrons, Museum of Modern Art, New York, USA (solo)
1987
Boulder Center for the Visual Arts, Boulder, USA (solo)
1986
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Rena Bransten Gallery, San Francisco, USA (solo)
1985
The Ceramics of Betty Woodman, Freedman Gallery at Albright College, Reading, USA (solo)
Gloria Luria Gallery, Bay Harbor Islands, USA (solo)
1983
Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
The Houston Room, Hadler/Rodriguez Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Max Protetch Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
1982
Garth Clark Gallery, Los Angeles, USA (solo)
An Interior Exchange, Fashion Institute of Technology, New York, USA (solo)
1981
Tibor de Nagy Gallery, New York, USA (solo)
Helen Drutt Gallery, Philadelphia, USA (solo)
1980
Amalgam Art Limited, London, England (solo)
1979
Hills Gallery, Santa Fe, USA (solo)
1978
Greenwich House Pottery, New York, USA (solo)
1977
United States Information Service Gallery, Milano, Italy (solo)
1976
Clay and Fiber Gallery, Taos, USA (solo)
1975
Nelson-Fosdick Gallery, Alfred University, Alfred, USA (solo)
1974
One Hundred Italian Pots, Boulder, USA (solo)
1970
Salt Glaze, Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, USA (solo)
1969
Salt Glaze, Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, USA (solo)

Literature

2006
Koplos, Janet, Arthur C. Danto, and Barry Schwabsky. Betty Woodman. New York: The Monacelli Press, 2006
English (US)

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