Betty Woodman

Betty Woodman's creative process was deeply informed by travel and she often returned home with ideas sparked by experiences working abroad, drawing inspiration from the techniques she encountered during residencies. An example of these influences is Woodman’s pursuit of the radiant gold that appears throughout her work.

Tireless advocate and patron saint of art and social justice. Devoted friend and supporter to so many artists, curators, and institutions, including Betty Woodman and George Woodman and many of our Board members. Equity-focused creator of Studio in a School and the Studio Institute, whose summer interns we've been fortunate to host for many years.

Matisse’s influence on the Woodman family is evident not only in the joie de vivre and cut-out forms of Betty Woodman’s ceramic sculptures, but also in the architectural sensibilities that inform both her and George Woodman’s work. George’s site-specific paper tile installations, in particular, invite comparison to Matisse’s Chapelle du Rosaire—not through direct lineage, but through a shared devotion to formal clarity, and the transformative potential of scale and repetition.

Curated by potter, interior designer, and author Jonathan Adler, this vibrant exhibition at MAD brings together over 60 works from the museum’s permanent collection, juxtaposed with Adler’s own iconic designs.

Betty Woodman, Francesca Woodman, and George Woodman also succumbed to the lure of beaches and seashores in their work, each artist reimagining the beachscape with a distinct sensibility and overlapping visual languages.

This summer, take in the fluid beauty of water as seen through the eyes of Betty Woodman, George Woodman, and Francesca Woodman.

Betty Woodman is known for her exuberant body of work, which is often bathed in vivid hues of yellow, fuchsia, red, and orange. Yet in the December 2006 issue of The Studio Potter devoted solely to color, she confessed—“without a moment’s hesitation”—that blue was her favorite.

Happy anniversary to Betty and George Woodman, who married on this day in 1953.

In 2012, Betty Woodman was commissioned to create an artwork for the Christopher S. Bond courthouse in Jefferson City, Missouri, through the General Services Administration’s Art in Architecture program.

In honor of International Museum Day this past week, our Collections Coordinator Celia Lê visited AMOCA, where Betty Woodman’s "Pillow Pitcher" is on view alongside works by Ron Nagle, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos, among others in "Hot! & Ready to Serve."

Happy birthday to Betty Woodman, born on this day in 1930. Known for her bold and exuberant colors in both art and self presentation, she is pictured here playfully dressed like her own sculpture “Roman Windows,” draped in a vivid yellow that echoes her sunlit New York City studio.

Throughout her career, Betty Woodman embraced the possibilities that different kilns and firing techniques offered, adapting her approach to the materials available in the diverse places where she lived and worked.