2025-06-27
Betty Woodman died on 2 January at the age of 87, her death was announced by Salon 94 gallery in New York, officially representing the artist. Woodman worked in ceramics for more than 60 years; in her innovative experiments with clay she went so far as to completely blur the boundaries between sculpture, painting and ceramics.
The artist's works exude a Fauvist expression of colour, and there are also clear references to the style of Henri Matisse and Pierre Bonnard. Woodman's eclecticism is also evident in the shaping of vessel forms that go far beyond standard utility. In the 1950s, she travelled extensively to Italy in particular, which resulted in the introduction of elements drawn from Italian majolica into her work. She also drew on the traditions of Persian, Chinese, Etruscan or Islamic ceramics. She was the first living artist to have a retrospective exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 2006.
Furthermore, she studied craftsmanship at the Society of American Craftsmen in Alfred, New York. Her husband was George Woodman photographer and painter, and their two children were also involved in art, daughter Francesca Woodman in photography and son Charles Woodman in electronic music and video art. The 2010 film The Woodmans, directed by Scott Willis, was made about the life of this artistic family.