Kathy Butterly

Kathy Butterly is known for her elegantly designed and decorated small-scale porcelain sculptures. Each sculpture begins with the same cast vessel form. * The finished form is created by twisting, pinching, building, ...
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    Kathy Butterly is known for her elegantly designed and decorated small-scale porcelain sculptures. Each sculpture begins with the same cast vessel form. * The finished form is created by twisting, pinching, building, and otherwise manipulating the perfect classic vessel form to create unique pieces.The pieces are frequently glazed in a bright palette of colors accented with black and white.

    During this process she, ?thinks a lot about the quality of the lines,? she is creating.The resulting forms are reminiscent of the work of George Ohr. The altered forms often suggest the human body, an image she enhances by the addition of appendages. Butterly says she thinks of the pieces as, ?containers for color?. * The subtle rich surface colors are the result of the application of numerous layers of glazes and using as many as 40 firings. *

    *Butterly discussing her work, 92Y Virtual Clay and NCECA: Kathy Butterly: ?Looking Back and Looking Forward?, February 6, 2018.

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    Apprenticeships & Residencies
    -
    1993

    The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

    Primary Work Experience

    Other

    Public Collections

    Arizona State University Art Museum, Tempe, Arizona

    Cantor Art Center, Stanford University, Stanford, California

    Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

    Currier Gallery of Art, Manchester, New Hampshire

    Daum Museum of Art, Sedalia, Missouri

    Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, Michigan

    Everson Museum of Art, Syracuse, New York

    Frances Young Tang Teaching Museum and Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, New York

    Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina

    Museum of Arts and Design, New York, New York

    Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Massachusetts

    Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Texas

    Museum Het Kruithuis-'s Hertogenbosch, The Netherlands

    Museum of Modern Art, New York, New York

    Oakland Museum of California, Oakland, California

    Smithsonian American Art Museum, Renwick Gallery, Washington, D.C.

    Bibliography

    Adkins, Gretchen. “The Pots of Kathy Butterly.” Ceramics Art and Perception no. 23 (1996).

    Butterly, Kathy. Kathy Butterly: Between and Rock and a Soft Place. New Yorkk, NY: Tibor de Nagy Gallery, 2007.

    Clark, Garth. “Rising Above the Polemic-Organic Abstraction in Contemporary Ceramics.” Ceramics Art and Perception no. 22 (1995).

    Cotter, Holland. “New Sparkle for an Abstract Ensemble,” The New York Times, January 7, 2011.

    Danto, Arthur C. and Janet Koplos, Choice from America: Modern American Ceramics. The Netherlands: Museum Het Kruithuis, 's Hertogenbosch, 1999.

    Levin, Elaine. “Kathy Butterly: Lots of Little Love Affairs.” Ceramics Monthly (May 2013).

    Ollman, Leah. “Exhibition Reviews: Kathy Butterly.” Art in America (March 2013).

    Porter, Jenelle and Jeremy Sigler. Figuring Color: Kathy Butterly, Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Roy McMakin, Sue Williams. Boston, MA: Institute of Contemporary Art, 2012.

    Smith, Roberta. “Crucible of Creativity, Stoking Earth into Art.” The New York Times, March 20, 2009.

    Sutton, Benjamin. “Playful Ceramicist Kathy Butterly Wins Smithsonian’s 2013 Contemporary Art Prize.” Artinfo, November 2012.

    Yau, John. “Kathy Butterly: Pantyhose and Morandi,” The Brooklyn Rail, June 2010.

    CV or Resume

    Website(s)
    Tags (related topics)

    Scripps College Ceramic Annual

    Citation: Kathy Butterly, "The Marks Project."
    Last modified April 29, 2026. https://www.themarksproject.org/artists/kathy-butterly

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