Kathy Butterly Audio Guide
KB: When I start a piece, I have no preconceived idea of what it will look like or be about. The process of making my work determines the direction of the piece by casting, carving, adding glazes, and firing the colors multiple times in the kiln.
Like Butter was made early in my relationship with my husband and reflects essential intimacy and love. I embrace and choose to work on a small scale. I feel a powerful statement can be made in a mere four inches.
Kathy Butterly (United States, born 1963), Like Butter, 1997, clay, glaze, 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 3/8 inches. Courtesy of the artist © Kathy Butterly. Image courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Alan Wiener.
KB: This piece was from a body of work in which I chose to limit my palette. I was really interested in Giorgio Morandi's use of neutral colors in a still life painting, such as beiges, mauves, and browns, all colors I thought I didn't like.
I was reminded that restrictions can actually be more rewarding than total freedom when it comes to me making my work. This self-imposed assignment was so rewarding. I understood how colors became more interesting to me when they had nuance and subtlety.
Also, by limiting my palette, I became acutely aware of the importance of line. Line, for me, then became about the actual outline of the form, the quality of both the carved and applied lines within the form. I started to see my works as three-dimensional line drawings.
The title references my being in Maine and buying eggs from a neighbor. The yolks were bright orange as opposed to factory-farmed eggs, which are really pale. I then decided I don't trust factory farming, and thus the title I don't think I trust your eggs.
Kathy Butterly (United States, born 1963), I’m Not Sure I Trust Your Eggs, 2010, clay, glaze 4 1/2 x 3 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches. Collection of Richard Shebairo, New York. © Kathy Butterly. Image courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Alan Wiener.
KB: Super Bloom is a good example of what I consider a head scape to be. It's a place where the head, the mind, the planet combine and represent one. I'm interested in dualities and contrasts, such as using colors that are both soothing and jarring at the same time, a sweeping gesture versus an intimate detail, beauty and catastrophe, and so on.
Super Bloom's title references the extreme abundance of California's wildflowers, but also the worry and potential catastrophes that they can fuel.
Kathy Butterly (United States, born 1963), Super Bloom, 2019, clay, glaze, 6 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 10 inches. The Ruttenberg '52 Collection, Chicago. © Kathy Butterly. Image courtesy the artist and James Cohan, New York. Photo: Alan Wiener.
KB: I had wanted to make a piece which was basically monochromatic for a long time. This is one of the first pieces that felt right to me. The main body was glazed black. That's something I had never done before.
When I opened the kiln after the first glaze firing, I was really struck by its beauty. I was at a total loss on how to move forward with it. It sat eye level on a shelf in my studio for over two months, waiting for me to move forward with it.
I wanted to use some color in the piece, so I decided to first apply a layer of deep blue onto the cube. Next I applied and fired a dark red over the blue, which basically reads as a black. It felt really right.
To me, the combination of these colors became a reflection of our times, the red and blue of politics, and also reflecting race relations and environmental concerns, such as the wildfires that keep igniting worldwide.
Kathy Butterly (United States, born 1963), Black and White and Red and Blue, porcelain, earthenware, glaze. Private collection, courtesy of Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles.