Annabeth Rosen
Encyclopedia
Annabeth Rosen is an American sculptor, and the Robert Arneson Endowed Chair at University of California, Davis
,
in Alfred, New York
. She then received her M.F.A. in 1981 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
.
Since then her work has been featured all over the world, and she has received numerous awards such as, the National Endowment for the Arts
Craftsman Fellowship and a 1992 Pew Fellowship in the Arts
.
She taught at Bennington College
, from 1993 to 1997.
Another underlying theme in Rosen’s work is violence. When she was a child she often watched violent action films. Her studios in New York and Philadelphia were in dangerous neighborhoods so Rosen was constantly surrounded by violence and she found herself intrigued by it. This influence of violence is clearly evident in her raw forms and her approach to aesthetics. The violence is expressed in Rosen’s work by her rough touch. Her raw forms clearly illustrate the forcefulness and roughness in which she touches clay.
While Rosen used to make traditional tiles she is best known for her ceramic sculptures. Rosen's work is fabulously, gorgeously useless; it acquires its form and purpose from extended dialogue with the functional. She sculpts numerous abstract organic forms and from these individual units creates an entirely new sculptural form. The subunits of clay in her sculptures usually mimic something in nature like a seedpod or a flower. The glazing of her work is generally very colorful and exuberant, meant to contrast with her raw and earthly forms.
University of California, Davis
The University of California, Davis is a public teaching and research university established in 1905 and located in Davis, California, USA. Spanning over , the campus is the largest within the University of California system and third largest by enrollment...
,
Early life and education
She received her B.F.A in 1978 from the NYS College of Ceramics at Alfred UniversityAlfred University
Alfred University is a small, comprehensive university in the Village of Alfred in Western New York, USA, an hour and a half south of Rochester and two hours southeast of Buffalo. Alfred has an undergraduate population of around 2,000, and approximately 300 graduate students...
in Alfred, New York
Alfred (village), New York
Alfred is a village located in the Town of Alfred in Allegany County, New York, USA. The population was 3,954 at the 2000 census. The village is named after Alfred the Great....
. She then received her M.F.A. in 1981 from the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan
Bloomfield Hills is a city in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan, northwest of downtown Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 3,869...
.
Since then her work has been featured all over the world, and she has received numerous awards such as, the National Endowment for the Arts
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
Craftsman Fellowship and a 1992 Pew Fellowship in the Arts
Pew Fellowships in the Arts
The Pew Fellowships in the Arts is an organization established by the Pew Charitable Trusts in 1991 which awards grants to Philadelphia-area artists. The grants provide artists with an economic freedom that presents the opportunity to focus on their individual practices over a considerable period...
.
She taught at Bennington College
Bennington College
Bennington College is a liberal arts college located in Bennington, Vermont, USA. The college was founded in 1932 as a women's college and became co-educational in 1969.-History:-Early years:...
, from 1993 to 1997.
Work
Explosions of rich thick patterning often characterize Rosen’s work. Her art is most commonly the result of compiling many small organic sculptures of clay to create a much larger, more energetic and dynamic composition. Rosen’s work is rooted, historically, in tile making. At the beginning of her career she made traditional tiles. She began to question the line between craft and art, which caused her to cover her entire apartment in tiles transforming it from a mundane to a spectacular interior space. Her piece entitled Sample helps define where she has gone with her work today. Her work is based on the ideas of functional pottery, decorative architecture and abstract sculpture but her interest is in how her ideas involve and inform the material.Another underlying theme in Rosen’s work is violence. When she was a child she often watched violent action films. Her studios in New York and Philadelphia were in dangerous neighborhoods so Rosen was constantly surrounded by violence and she found herself intrigued by it. This influence of violence is clearly evident in her raw forms and her approach to aesthetics. The violence is expressed in Rosen’s work by her rough touch. Her raw forms clearly illustrate the forcefulness and roughness in which she touches clay.
While Rosen used to make traditional tiles she is best known for her ceramic sculptures. Rosen's work is fabulously, gorgeously useless; it acquires its form and purpose from extended dialogue with the functional. She sculpts numerous abstract organic forms and from these individual units creates an entirely new sculptural form. The subunits of clay in her sculptures usually mimic something in nature like a seedpod or a flower. The glazing of her work is generally very colorful and exuberant, meant to contrast with her raw and earthly forms.
Exhibitions
- 1993 "The American Way". Aberystwyth Arts Centre
- 2004 "Surface & Element", Solomon Dubnick Gallery
- 2007 New Langton Arts:
- 2008 Gallery Paule Anglim
External links
- "What Matters to Annabeth Rosen?", UC Davis