Winter Series Session 1, Life as Unity by Ruth Duckworth at the Smart Museum of Art (in-person program)

Link to Register: https://www.artencounter.org/winter-series

Join Joanna Pinsky this winter for an in-depth view of six innovative female artists whose work has impacted different artistic and cultural communities. This series includes two online programs and two in-person visits to Chicago museums. For our first session on January 24, join us at the Smart Museum of Art for a retrospective of work by Ruth Duckworth.

Working with clay, Ruth Duckworth (1919–2009) pushed the boundaries of ceramic art, creating monumental abstract sculptures and murals along with small, intimate pieces and functional works. Since her father was Jewish, she fled to England to study art in the 1930s. Originally a stone mason, she turned to ceramics in her 40’s. An invitation to teach at the University of Chicago brought her to this city, where she continued her exploration of the medium for the rest of her life. In this important retrospective, we’ll discuss the range of her art using diverse ceramic materials including porcelain, which she describes as, “a very temperamental material. I’m constantly fighting it. It wants to lie down, you want it to stand up. I have to make it do what it doesn’t want to do. But there’s no other material that so effectively communicates both fragility and strength.”

Image Credit: Earth, Water, and Sky, left; Untitled (Wall Sculpture), right, both by Ruth Duckworth