- This event has passed.
Folly, Beth Katleman
Event Navigation
Folly
Beth Katleman
January 20 – February 17, 2011
The Jane Hartsook Gallery is pleased to present a new installation by New York-based artist Beth Katleman, whose work has been described by Ken Johnson in the New York Times as “doll-sized rococo theaters of murder and domestic mayhem.” Her deliciously subversive porcelain sculptures combine rococo ornament with icons from popular culture.” Katleman has created 50 porcelain tableaus each scene is an idealized landscape with water, topiaries and architectural follies.
“I have long been fascinated by Toile de Jouy, the printed fabrics that drape the walls and beds of 18th century France. Peasants cavort in bucolic landscapes decked out with flowers, all in the shadow of classical ruins. There is something surreal about these scenes, which float, disembodied in a world without gravity. I love the contrast between the ornate sensuality and frivolity of the scenes, and the incongruous setting. Often the 2nd and 3rd generation knock-offs catch my eye, especially those that project a sense of optimism, as though they long for a grander existence” –Beth Katleman
Beth Katleman was born in Park Forest, Illinois. She holds a BA in English from Stanford University, an MBA in Arts Management from UCLA and an MFA from Cranbrook. Her work is in many national collections, including the M.H. de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA, the John Michael Kohler Arts Center, WI, Kohler Company, WI and the Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, MT. She has had solo exhibitions in Barneys New York windows and Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, MI. She has shown in exhibitions at M.H. de Young Museum, Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, Garth Clark Gallery, Thomas Healy Gallery, Storefront for Art and Architecture, New York and the National Building Museum, Washington, D.C. She has had reviews in the New York Times, American Ceramics, New Art Examiner, and Sculpture Magazine. Her grants include a Mid-Atlantic Arts Foundation grant, Kohler Arts/Industry Fellowship, Watershed Generation X Award, and a residency in Cortona, Italy. Katleman lives and works in Brooklyn, New York.
