BETTY WOODMAN ARTWORKS

Betty Woodman, born Elizabeth Abrahams on May 14, 1930 in Norwalk, Connecticut, was a postwar American artist. Her artistic career, which began in the 1950s as a functional ceramist, has evolved to reach world-famous heights, with works that synthesize sculpture, painting and ceramics into a unique and immediately recognizable visual language. Daughter of Minnie and Henry Abrahams, Betty Woodman grew up in a home marked by progressive socialism and feminism. This background gave her the tenacity to challenge the conventions of the time, as when as a teenager she fought her way into a male-dominated carpentry class to learn to use a lathe. This early experience with her craft led her to discover her passion for ceramics at the age of 16. He furthered his studies in this field at the School for American Craftsmen at Alfred University in New York, from 1948 to 1950.
His career transformed radically over the course of over the years, moving from functional ceramic works to more abstract and exuberant creations. After the death of her daughter Francesca in 1981, Betty Woodman's art underwent a further evolution, expressing a more abstract and reflective artistic language. Throughout his life, he held numerous solo exhibitions in prestigious institutions such as the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London and the Museo of art in Denver.
Betty Woodman met George Woodman, also an artist, during a ceramics class in Boston in 1950. They married in 1953 and had two children: Francesca, a photographer, and Charles, an artist. The Woodman family spent much time in Italy, a country that had a significant influence on Betty Woodman's work. In particular, a stay in Fiesole in the 1950s allowed her to learn traditional Italian techniques that enriched her artistic practice.
Her works often reflected a fusion of historical and modern artistic traditions, exploring themes such as gender, modernism, craftsmanship, architecture and domesticity. Her creations, characterized by bold use of color and a variety of cultural influences, helped redefine ceramics as a contemporary art form.
Betty Woodman taught at the University of Colorado Boulder from 1978 to 1998, becoming an influential figure in art education. He has received numerous awards, including honorary doctorates from several institutions and the Brooklyn Museum Modernism Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2008.
His work is included in more than fifty public collections, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Whitney Museum of American Art. Betty Woodman passed away on January 2, 2018, leaving a lasting legacy in the world of contemporary art.