| 
|
 DON’T
MISS THE OPENING OF "RUTH DUCKWORTH, MODERNIST SCULPTOR,” ON
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 18 AT 6:30PM
RUTH DUCKWORTH, MODERNIST SCULPTOR
NOVEMBER 19, 2005 THROUGH JANUARY 15, 2006
This is the first U.S. retrospective of acclaimed ceramic artist Ruth
Duckworth, one of the world’s foremost ceramic sculptors. In a career
spanning more than six decades that follows her personal journey -- fleeing
from Nazi Germany to England at the outset of World War II, and settling
in the United States in the mid-1960s — Duckworth has created an
immense and important body of work and played an important role in the
continuation of the modernist tradition. The exhibition, which was organized
by Art Options Foundation and opened in January 2005 at the Museum of
Arts & Design in New York City, includes approximately eighty vessels
and sculptural artworks spanning all decades of Duckworth’s career.
<< Untitled (wall sculpture, detail), 2000, stoneware (17 x 17-1/2
x 3-3/4 inches), Private Collection |
| SELECTED
EXHIBITION IMAGES >> |
|
| SELECTED
OPENING NIGHT IMAGES (photos by Mitch Carr) >> |
|
| ARTISTS
TALK>> |
RUTH
DUCKWORTH
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 4PM
Ruth Duckworth is celebrated for her ambition, intensity and defiance
of convention that has governed her personal journey as well as her prodigious
artistic output. Please join us as Duckworth discusses her work in the
context of other important modernist sculptors that include Constantin
Brancusi, Henry Moore, Isamu Noguchi and others.
|
| RELATED
FILMS>> |
RUTH
DUCKWORTH: A LIFE IN CLAY, 2002
EVERY DAY DURING THE MUSEUM’S OPEN HOURS, WAINGER GALLERY
(Through January 15, 2006)
A study in contrasts, this documentary traces the career of Duckworth,
who fled Hitler’s Germany, studied at the Liverpool School of Art
in England and taught sculpture at the University of Chicago. Duckworth’s
ostensibly simplistic philosophy, “Work comes after play,”
belies the complexity of her vision, from her ceramic sculpture to her
extraordinary mural work.
COLOR AND FIRE: DEFINING MOMENTS IN STUDIO CERAMICS, 1950-2000
SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS, 1:30 PM AND 2:30 PM, DESALLE AUDITORIUM
(Through January 15, 2006 - except on December 11, 2005)
Through interviews and myriad examples of their works, leading figures
in the field of ceramics, including Ruth Duckworth, Wayne Higby, John
Mason, Ron Nagle, Otto Nazler, Richard Shaw and Peter Voulkos, discuss
Abstract Expressionism, Funk vessels, form and function and the ongoing
debate over the decorative arts versus fine arts.
|
| RELATED
EXHIBITIONS >> |
RUTH
DUCKWORTH SELECTS: CERAMICS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF CRANBROOK ART MUSEUM
AND CRANBROOK INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE
THROUGH DECEMBER 30, 2005
This exhibition is curated by Ruth Duckworth and demonstrates her inspiration
from both her peers and ancient ceramic traditions in other North and
South American cultures.
|
| PRESS
RELEASE >> |
Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor
First Major U.S. Retrospective Opening at Cranbrook Art Museum on November
19, 2005
Bloomfield Hills, MI – Cranbrook Art Museum is honored to present
Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor, November 19, 2005, through
January 15, 2006, the first comprehensive retrospective of this important
artist, known for her works in ceramic, bronze, and stone. This exhibition
will feature approximately 80 works, including freestanding sculpture
and sculptural vessels from her early years in Britain and mid to late
career works produced in the U.S. Many of the works are from the artist's
private collection, including stone carvings and maquettes that have never
before been exhibited. In addition, the exhibition will incorporate photographs
of Duckworth's large-scale architectural murals and site specific sculptures,
and a video documenting her life, for a very personal and in-depth look
at this groundbreaking artist.
In conjunction with the exhibition, Ruth Duckworth: Modernist Sculptor,
Cranbrook Art Museum will present Ruth Duckworth Selects: Ceramics
from the Collections of Cranbrook Art Museum and Cranbrook Institute of
Science, October 22, 2005-December 30, 2005 will feature 21 works
from the permanent collections of both museums, hand-picked by the artist
to reflect her own interests and influences of 20th -century modernism
and contemporary art, as well as more traditional ceramic vessels from
cultures in North and South America.
Additionally, an Artist’s Talk with Ruth Duckworth will take place
on Saturday, November 19, 2005, 4:00 pm at Cranbrook Art Museum in deSalle
Auditorium. The lecture is open to the public and included with Museum
Admission.
Duckworth's career began in the post-World War II years, and her work
embodies that era's organic modernism: strong clean forms, an abstraction
based on nature, and inspiration from non-Western “primitive”
art. The catalog essay by co-curator Jo Lauria discusses the similarities
between Duckworth's work and that of sculptors Henry Moore, Constantine
Brancusi and Isamu Noguchi. Lauria notes: “She shares with them
certain themes: the investigation of human relationships through sculpture,
the majesty and mystery of nature, and the spiritual quality that emanates
from abstract forms.”
At the same time, Duckworth has developed her own distinct style, lending
her technical skill and instinctual sense of composition to a variety
of forms, from monumental wall murals to small sculptural vessels, using
materials that range from delicate porcelain to rugged stoneware to classical
bronze. Her abstract sculptures are immensely evocative, imparting in
turn serenity and grace, texture and movement, seduction and sexuality.
“Duckworth has inspired several generations of ceramists and sculptors
working in clay, including many artists from Cranbrook,” says Gregory
Wittkopp, Director of Cranbrook Art Museum.
Duckworth was born in Germany in 1919. In 1936 she left Germany to join
her sister in England, fleeing Nazi oppression. A rebellious student at
many of the art schools she attended in England, Duckworth nevertheless
drew inspiration from the art world that surrounded her. She became acquainted
with Henry Moore and his work, and was inspired by trips to the British
Museum to study their collections of Egyptian, African, Pre-Columbian
and Cycladic sculpture.
Moving to Chicago in 1964 for a one-year teaching position, she ended
up staying in the United States, invigorated by the artistic freedom she
found. She has continued to work and create, notably a number of major
commissions for large-scale wall murals and monumental outdoor sculptures.
Duckworth's radical, convention-defying approach and her potent energetic
works tempered by refinement have been a great inspiration to both former
students and fellow artists. An acknowledged visionary in her field, she
has affirmed, most importantly, that clay is a viable medium for sculpture.
Ruth Duckworth: Modernist Sculptor was organized by Art Options Foundation
in Los Angeles and curated by Thea Burger and Jo Lauria. The exhibition
tour includes Museum of Arts & Design, New York, New York; Chicago
Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia,
Missouri; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan; Long Beach
Museum of Art, Long Beach, California; and Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian
American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. The national tour is presented by
Target.
The exhibition is accompanied by a 160-page catalogue with essays by Martin
Puryear, Tony Birks and Jo Lauria, which is available in The Store at
Cranbrook Art Museum.
|
| CREDITS
>> |
Ruth
Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor was organized by Art Options Foundation
in Los Angeles and curated by Thea Burger and Jo Lauria. The exhibition
tour includes Museum of Arts & Design, New York, New York; Chicago
Cultural Center, Chicago, Illinois; Daum Museum of Contemporary Art,
Sedalia, Missouri; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, Michigan;
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, California; and Renwick Gallery
of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C. Cranbrook Art
Museum's 2005-2006 Exhibition Season, including Ruth Duckworth, Modernist
Sculptor, is generously sponsored by LaSalle Bank.
Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor also is presented at Cranbrook with
the support of the 2005-2006 Museum Committee of Cranbrook Art Museum
including Adele Acheson, Maggie Allesee, John Berry, Jonathan Boos,
Keenie Fieger, Maxine Frankel, Ralph Graham, Stanley Grandon, John Henke,
Jonathan Holtzman, Diane Kirkpatrick, David Klein, Til Klem, Wendy MacGaw,
Diane VanderBeke Mager, James Nichols, Michael Poris, Cathy Rosenthal,
Jane Schulak, Gilbert Silverman, Ronald Swanson, and Gary Wasserman.
Cranbrook Art Museum also is supported by the contributors to the Annual
Fund of both Cranbrook Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum, the
fund-raising activites of ArtMembers@Cranbrook, including both Fanfare
and Serious Moonlight, and the Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural
Affairs.
Cranbrook Art Museum is a non-profit contemporary art museum, and an
integral part of Cranbrook Academy of Art, a community of artists-in-residence
and graduate-level students of art, design and architecture. Cranbrook
Academy of Art and Cranbrook Art Museum are a part of Cranbrook Educational
Community, which also includes Cranbrook’s Institute of Science,
Schools and other affiliated cultural and educational programs. Cranbrook
Art Museum is accredited by the American Association of Museums. For
information call toll free 1-877-GO-CRANBrook (1-877-462-7262).
To become a member of ArtMembers@Cranbrook call 248-645-3032.
Museum Hours
Wednesday through Sunday, 11am – 5pm
Fourth Fridays, 11am – 9pm
Closed Mondays and Tuesdays and the following holidays during the exhibition:
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve and Day, New Year’s Eve and Day
Cranbrook Art Museum Members: Free!
Adults: $6
Full-Time Students with ID and Teens 13 and over: $4
Senior Citizens (65+): $4
Children 12 and under: Free!
No credit cards accepted
Personal checks welcomed
U.S. currency only
For more information, please call 1.877.GO.CRANBrook. (1.877.462.7262)
|
| |
