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Customs declaration form penned by George Woodman. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Customs declaration form penned by George Woodman. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Across oceans and borders, a customs declaration became a promise: FROM THE ARCHIVES...
Around 1952, a young George Woodman in Cambridge, Massachusetts, penned his devotion on a USPS customs form: “Little box with littler box inside” and “1 engagement ring of Navajo silver with turquoises.” The precious 4-ounce package was destined for the hands of Elizabeth Abrahams (later to be known as Betty Woodman) across the ocean in Fiesole, Italy, where she had been living and working for the past year.
L to R: Images 1-4: Betty Woodman’s brushes / Detail of "Roman Girls," 2008, 35 x 70 x 11 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, paint / Detail of "History of the Amphora," 2011, 6 ft. x 8 ft. x 1 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint / Detail of “Country House,” 2005, 66 x 32 x 9 1/2 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer / Woodman’s glazes / Detail of "Spring Wall Relief," 2009, 60 x 48 x 1 in. Glazed earthenware / Detail of "His and Hers Vases: Ferris Wheel," 2006, 28.5 x 73 x 14.5 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint / All works by Betty Woodman. © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman’s brushes. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman's glazes, paints, and brushes: FROM THE ARCHIVES...
Betty Woodman’s numerous glazes, paints, and the varied configurations of brushes—sometimes mixed or assembled by the artist herself to achieve desired color swatches, brushy marks, and parallel stripes—reflect her continuously innovative work with ceramic forms.
L to R: All artworks by Betty Woodman. “Green Checks,” 2014. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas, and wood. 60 1/2 x 43 x 10 1/4 in. Photo: Brian Forrest / “Tuesday Afternoon,” 2016. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, acrylic paint, and canvas. 84 x 38 x 13 in. Photo: Jeff McLane / “From Nina’s Room,” 2016. Acrylic paint, pencil, ink, and collage on paper. 29 x 36 in. Photo: Phoebe d’Heurle. All images Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery.
Betty Woodman. “Green Checks,” 2014. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, canvas, and wood. 60 1/2 x 43 x 10 1/4 in. Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery. Photo: Brian Forrest.
Betty Woodman at The ADAA Art Show
This solo presentation of wall-based works by Woodman focuses on the culminating phase of her 60-year career. The paintings on view--on canvas, ceramic, and paper--illuminate the artist's daring approach to materials and radical explorations of two- and three-dimensional form.
Betty Woodman, Italy, 1995. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Betty Woodman, Italy, 1995. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Watch a video recording of the event "Amy Sherlock and Judith Tannenbaum on Betty Woodman" moderated by Kyle Dancewicz, SculptureCenter, December 8, 2022
Watch a video recording of the event "Amy Sherlock and Judith Tannenbaum on Betty Woodman" moderated by Kyle Dancewicz which took place on December 8, 2022 at SculptureCenter.
Cover of "Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s," 2023. Image Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery.
Cover of "Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s," 2023. Image Courtesy of David Kordansky Gallery.
"Betty Woodman: Conversations on the Shore, Works from the 1990s" catalogue published by David Kordansky Gallery
Published in association with Woodman's 2022 exhibition at David Kordansky Gallery New York, this vibrant catalogue includes a new essay by Amy Sherlock, which, together with installation views and details of thirteen works from this formative period, enlarge an understanding of Woodman's process and practice.
Still from exhibition video for “Betty Woodman and George Woodman,” Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25–September 10, 2023. Exhibition video Charleston Trust. All video interviews Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Still from exhibition video for “Betty Woodman and George Woodman,” Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25–September 10, 2023. Exhibition video Charleston Trust. All video interviews Woodman Family Foundation Archives. All artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London.
Exhibition video for "Betty Woodman and George Woodman," Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25-September 10, 2023
Catch a glimpse of Betty and George Woodman's Italian studios and home and hear them speak about the importance of Italy to their work in this exhibition video, assembled from interviews in the Woodman Family Foundation archives.
Installation view: “Betty Woodman and George Woodman," Charleston, East Sussex, UK, 2023.
Installation view: “Betty Woodman and George Woodman," Charleston, East Sussex, UK, 2023.
Video vignettes from Charleston for “Betty Woodman and George Woodman,” Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25-September 10, 2023
Video vignettes by Charleston that highlight artworks by Betty Woodman and George Woodman included in the exhibition Betty Woodman and George Woodman. On view through September 10, 2023.
L to R: Betty Woodman. "Balustrade Relief Vase 00-5," 2000. 81 x 67 x 8 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint / Detail: George Woodman. "Low Balustrade Screen (Garden Balustrade Screen)," 1981 / George Woodman. "Low Balustrade Screen (Garden Balustrade Screen)," 1981 42 x 151 ½ in. Each panel 42 x 30 in. Acrylic paint on canvas.
L to R: Betty Woodman. "Balustrade Relief Vase 00-5," 2000. 81 x 67 x 8 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, and paint / Detail: George Woodman. "Low Balustrade Screen (Garden Balustrade Screen)," 1981 42 x 151 ½ in. Each panel 42 x 30 in. Acrylic paint on canvas.
"Betty Woodman and George Woodman" preview in "Financial Times," February 26, 2023
Read Ajesh Patalay's preview of "Betty Woodman and George Woodman" on view now through September 10, 2023 at Charleston, East Sussex, UK.
L to R: Betty Woodman during her Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Bellagio Study Center, Bellagio, Italy, 1995. Woodman Family Foundation Archives / Installation view: “Distant Conversations: Ella Walker and Betty Woodman,” Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH, 2023. Photo(s) by Morgan Karanasios, Courtesy of the Currier Museum of Art. Artwork by Betty Woodman © Woodman Family Foundation / Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Katarina Jerinic and Lorenzo Fusi in conversation, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH, September 28, 2023.
Betty Woodman during her Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Bellagio Study Center, Bellagio, Italy, 1995. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
THIS THURSDAY "Italian Connections: Ella Walker and Betty Woodman," September 28, 6-7pm, Currier Museum of Art, Manchester, NH
Join us this THURSDAY for Italian Inspirations - a free program celebrating the ongoing exhibition, “Distant Conversations: Ella Walker and Betty Woodman,” on view now through October 22. Katarina Jerinic, Collections Curator at The Woodman Family Foundation, will offer deeper insight into how Betty Woodman’s time in Italy influenced her singular approach to ceramic sculpture, paired with a presentation from the Currier’s Chief Curator Lorenzo Fusi highlighting the influence of Italian fresco on Ella Walker’s work.
L to R: Betty Woodman. “Courtyard: Pontormo,” 2016. 110 x 84 x 10 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, and canvas / Images 2-3: Spreads from “Betty Woodman: New York/Florence.” Purple Magazine, Fall/Winter, 2017 / Betty Woodman. “Courtyard: Van Gogh,” 2016. 96 x 84 x 10 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, and canvas.
Betty Woodman. “Courtyard: Pontormo,” 2016. 110 x 84 x 10 in. Glazed earthenware, epoxy resin, lacquer, acrylic paint, and canvas.
Betty Woodman interview with Selva Barni, "Purple Magazine," Fall/Winter, 2017: READING ROOM
READING ROOM highlights past essays, reviews and interviews about Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, and George Woodman that provided new insights and lenses through which to understand their work. In this interview with Selva Barni, published in "Purple Magazine" in 2017, Betty Woodman talks about taking chances in her work and life, her relationship to feminism, her shift from potter to sculptor, and much more.
Video interviews from the Woodman Family Foundation archives included in the exhibition video for “Betty Woodman and George Woodman,” Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25–September 10, 2023. Exhibition video Charleston Trust. All video interviews Woodman Family Foundation Archives. All artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London.
Still from exhibition video for “Betty Woodman and George Woodman,” Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25–September 10, 2023. Exhibition video Charleston Trust. All video interviews Woodman Family Foundation Archives. All artworks © Woodman Family Foundation / DACS, London.
CLOSING SEPTEMBER 10: "Betty Woodman and George Woodman," Charleston, East Sussex, UK, March 25-September 10, 2023
Last chance to see this unique exhibition, the first two-person presentation of Betty Woodman’s and George Woodman’s work in the UK. Focused on the couple's prolific time at their farmhouse in Antella, Italy—where they lived and worked for part of each year for nearly fifty years—the exhibition explores the artists’ mutual influences and their shared life immersed in art, culture, travel and experimentation, reflected in kindred palettes and patterns. Catch a glimpse of their Italian studios and home and hear them speak about the importance of Italy to their work in this exhibition video, assembled from interviews in the Woodman Family Foundation archives.
L to R: Detail of Betty Woodman / Betty Woodman, Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / Betty Woodman and friend, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / Pyramid of the Magician, Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / George Woodman, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / Betty Woodman, Hotel Real Toledo by Kavia, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / George Woodman, Hotel Real Toledo by Kavia, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s / George Woodman, Hotel Real Toledo by Kavia, Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Detail of Betty Woodman, Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s. Woodman Family Foundation Archives.
Yucatán, Mexico, c. 1980s: SUMMER TRAVELS WITH THE WOODMAN FAMILY
The Woodmans’ travels also took them beyond the historical and cultural capitals of Europe. For Betty and George, this included trips to India, China, Japan, Korea, and more than one visit to Mexico—a country where they spent three months on their honeymoon in the summer of 1953. Here they are in the 1980s exploring the ancient Mayan city of Uxmal, home to the Pyramid of the Magician, as well as some of Yucatan’s more recent architectural gems.