Kathy Butterly's Ceramic Retrospective at Tang Museum

Kathy Butterly's retrospective 'Assume Yes' at the Tang Teaching Museum & Art Gallery in Saratoga Springs, New York, spans 32 years of small-scale ceramic sculptures. The exhibition features 45 glazed porcelain and earthenware works, including the rarely seen 'Eddy's Skirt' (1994). Curated by Ian Berry, the show runs through July 26. Butterly's hybrid vessel-figures blend abstraction and figuration, evoking bodily forms and emotional states. The works are grouped into three periods: early works from the 1990s to 2001, mid-career works from 2003 to 2019, and recent works characterized by cubic bases and monochromatic palettes. Notable pieces include 'Wave 'Em Like You Just Don't Care' (2001), 'Mask' (2003), 'Mushroom Nirvana' (2011), and 'Assume Yes' (2022). Butterly's practice challenges gender biases associated with ceramics as a craft medium.