Beth Katleman Explained

Beth Katleman
Birth Place:Park Forest, Illinois, United States
Known For:Sculpture
Awards:Arts/Industry Fellowship, JM Kohler Arts Center (1995), Moët Hennessey Prize (2011)

Beth Katleman (born 1959 in Park Forest, Illinois) is an American artist known for porcelain assemblage sculpture cast from found objects.[1] Her allegorical installations fall within the genre of pop surrealism,[2] combining decorative elements, such as Rococo embellishments and 19th century Toile de Jouy wallpaper scenery, with satirical references to consumer culture, fairy tales and classic literature.[3] Katleman's work is in private and institutional collections and is exhibited internationally, including an installation commissioned by architect Peter Marino for Christian Dior, in the Hong Kong and London flagship boutiques.[4] She lives and works in Brooklyn, New York, and is the recipient of the 2011 Moët Hennessey Prize, a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation grant, the Watershed Generation X Award, a Kohler Arts/Industry Fellowship and a residency in Cortona, Italy sponsored by the University of Georgia, Athens. Katleman holds a BA in English from Stanford University, an MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art and an MBA in Arts Management from UCLA.[1]

Influences

Katleman's work addresses dualities[5] between nature and culture; order and chaos; kitsch and fine art; dark humor and optimism; consumption and desire.[6] [7] Her sculpture is informed by parallels and differences between classic European decorative arts and American pop culture.[2] The objects that she casts into sculpture are sourced from dime store trinkets, gadgets, dolls and toys.[7] Katleman is influenced by porcelain rooms, such as The Royal Palace of Aranjuez in Spain;[8] Toile de Jouy wallpaper found in Versailles and the Victoria and Albert Museum;[9] and time studying Italian porcelain reliefs in the Salottino di Porcellana room at the Royal Palace of Capodimonte, Naples, which she visited during an artist residency at the American Academy in Rome.[10]

Her early work incorporated bright colored glazes, gold details and overt references to pop art.[10] Katleman's work has been included in group exhibitions intended to blur distinctions between fine art and design. In 1998 a work from the toilet series, produced during her Kohler Arts/Industry Fellowship, was included in Bathroom at the Thomas Healy Gallery, alongside Andy Warhol and John Waters.[11] In 2019 the Rhode Island School of Design Museum invited Katleman to create a site-specific installation in response to the 1969 exhibition Raid the Icebox I with Andy Warhol.[2]

In 2010 Katleman transitioned to working entirely in white porcelain, often installed as sculptural tableaus to produce a three-dimensional wall paper effect. Literature, in particular classical mythology and fairy tales, also inspires the work.[3]

Process

Katleman fabricates her sculptures using hand cast porcelain objects that are combined into a singular composition and kiln fired without a glaze to produce a matte white surface.[7] A completed installation can contain up to 3,500 individual cast elements.[12] The molds used to produce the castings are made after combinations of source materials are experimented with, using digital imaging software and hand drawn renderings. These 2D compositions are then used to visualize placement while working with figures from her studio library of objects.[10]

Exhibitions

Collections

Notes and References

  1. News: Rodgers . Bill . Beth Katleman: Domestic Nightmares in the Language of Kitsch . CFILE . July 23, 2015.
  2. News: Ohanesian . Liz . Beth Katleman's Ornate Sculptures Delve into Themes of Opulence and Over-Consumption . 49 . Hi- Fructose . October 1, 2018.
  3. Web site: Rappaport . Emily . Blending Rococo and Kitsch, Beth Katleman Explores the Myths of Domesticity . Artsy . Artsy.
  4. Book: Goldfarb . Brad . Peter Marino: Art Architecture . June 27, 2016 . Phaidon . New York . 9780714871288 . 25.
  5. News: Helander . Bruce . Beth Katleman's "Folly" . 3 . The Art Economist . 2011. 1 .
  6. News: Milgrom . Lilianne . Three-In-One, A conversation with Beth Katleman, Molly Hatch and Shari Mendelson . 3 . Ceramics Now . June 2015.
  7. Copeland . Colette . Beth Katleman: Folly . Ceramics Art and Perception . September–November 2011 . 85 . 42–43.
  8. News: Oltuski . Romy . Fall Jewels: Off the Walls . Harper's Bazaar . September 10, 2015.
  9. Web site: Archer . Sarah . A Design Fair With a Sense of Play . Hyperallergic . May 9, 2014.
  10. Web site: Milgrom . Lilianne . Beth Katleman: After Folly . Ceramics Monthly . Ceramics Monthly.
  11. News: Green . Penelope . Beth Katleman on Her Ceramic Curiosities . New York Times . January 12, 2011.
  12. Web site: Swengley . Nicole . A Great Relief . Financial Times . Financial Times.
  13. Web site: Saja . Richard . Confabulations of Millennia . Maine College of Art . Maine College of Art.
  14. Web site: McKenzie . Heidi . Unconventional Clay . Ceramic Arts Network . Ceramic Arts Network.
  15. Web site: Erickson . Heather . Contemporary Clay . West Carolina University . West Carolina University.
  16. News: Starker . Melissa . Kenyan College Exhibit Explores Investment in Knickknack Sentiment . The Columbus Dispatch . February 1, 2015.
  17. Web site: Parson . Wendi . The Celebration of Nature in a Myriad of Media is the Focus of the New Exhibition Flora and Fauna, MAD about Nature . Museum of Arts and Design . Museum of Arts and Design.
  18. Web site: Kohler Arts Center . John Michael . Kohler Co. National Arts Marketing Project. Americans for the Arts . Americans for the Arts.
  19. Web site: Johnson . Ken . Blown Away . The New York Times . The New York Times.
  20. Web site: Milne . Victoria . The Pull of Beauty . Storefront for Art and Architecture . Storefront for Art and Architecture.

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