
KATHY BUTTERLY
Cinder Moss, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 3/4 x 5 3/4 x 5 1/4 in.
19.7 x 14.6 x 13.3 cm
JCG15889
KATHY BUTTERLY
Cover Me in Daylight, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
8 1/4 x 7 1/8 x 6 1/2 in.
21 x 18.1 x 16.5 cm
JCG15888
KATHY BUTTERLY
Liquid Landscape, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
8 7/8 x 8 x 5 1/2 in.
22.5 x 20.3 x 14 cm
JCG15892
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pollened, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
9 x 7 1/4 x 6 1/2 in.
22.9 x 18.4 x 16.5 cm
JCG15645
KATHY BUTTERLY
Matter, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
8 3/4 x 5 1/4 x 5 3/4 in
22.2 x 13.3 x 14.6 cm
JCG15647
KATHY BUTTERLY
Warming Glow, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 3/8 x 6 7/8 x 5 3/8 in.
18.7 x 17.5 x 13.7 cm
JCG14734
KATHY BUTTERLY
Squaring, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 3/8 x 6 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.
18.7 x 16.5 x 14 cm
JCG14735
KATHY BUTTERLY
Star Dust, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
8 1/4 x 5 3/4 x 6 in.
21 x 14.6 x 15.2 cm
JCG13833
KATHY BUTTERLY
Wobble, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
9 3/8 x 7 1/4 x 6 3/8 in.
23.8 x 18.4 x 16.2 cm
JCG13261
KATHY BUTTERLY
Moon Water, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 x 6 1/2 x 5 1/2 in.
17.8 x 16.5 x 14 cm
JCG13322
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pink, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 1/8 x 5 1/2 x 5 1/4 in.
18.1 x 14 x 13.3 cm
JCG13332
KATHY BUTTERLY
This, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
8 x 6 x 6 3/4 in.
20.3 x 15.2 x 17.1 cm
JCG13318
KATHY BUTTERLY
Vitamin Sky, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
6 3/4 x 6 3/4 x 7 in.
17.1 x 17.1 x 17.8 cm
JCG13325
KATHY BUTTERLY
Blue Kinetic, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 1/2 x 5 x 5 3/8 in.
19.1 x 12.7 x 13.7 cm
JCG13257
KATHY BUTTERLY
Subtle Slide, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 7/8 x 6 x 5 1/2 in.
20 x 15.2 x 14 cm
JCG13263
KATHY BUTTERLY
Falling into Places, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
8 x 5 3/4 x 9 1/8 in.
20.3 x 14.6 x 23.2 cm
JCG13329
KATHY BUTTERLY
Nude Beach, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 1/4 x 5 3/4 x 5 1/4 in.
18.4 x 14.6 x 13.3 cm
JCG13264
KATHY BUTTERLY
Mother Melt, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 1/2 x 6 1/4 x 3 7/8 in.
19.1 x 15.9 x 9.8 cm
JCG13265
KATHY BUTTERLY
Luminous Flow, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
6 3/8 x 7 1/8 x 6 1/4 in.
16.2 x 18.1 x 15.9 cm
JCG13262
KATHY BUTTERLY
Time In, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 5/8 x 6 x 5 3/4 in.
19.4 x 15.2 x 14.6 cm
JCG13331
KATHY BUTTERLY
Before Clarity, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 4 1/2 in.
19.7 x 12.1 x 11.4 cm
JCG13321
KATHY BUTTERLY
Between Things, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
8 3/8 x 4 3/4 x 9 1/8 in.
21.3 x 12.1 x 23.2 cm
JCG13330
KATHY BUTTERLY
Dark Calm, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 1/4 x 6 1/2 x 6 1/2 in.
18.4 x 16.5 x 16.5 cm
JCG13258
KATHY BUTTERLY
My Now, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
9 1/8 x 6 1/8 x 5 3/8 in.
23.2 x 15.6 x 13.7 cm
JCG13260
KATHY BUTTERLY
Modern Moss, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
6 7/8 x 6 1/2 x 5 in.
17.5 x 16.5 x 12.7 cm
JCG13327
KATHY BUTTERLY
Deep Think, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 1/2 x 5 1/2 x 6 in.
19.1 x 14 x 15.2 cm
JCG13328
KATHY BUTTERLY
Glow Night, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 3/8 x 6 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.
18.7 x 15.9 x 14.6 cm
JCG13320
KATHY BUTTERLY
Deep Gaze, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
9 1/4 x 5 7/8 x 5 7/8 in.
23.5 x 14.9 x 14.9 cm
JCG13319
KATHY BUTTERLY
Blur, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 3/4 x 6 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.
19.7 x 15.9 x 14.6 cm
JCG13259
KATHY BUTTERLY
Nowism, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
8 1/8 x 5 1/8 x 6 1/8 in.
20.6 x 13 x 15.6 cm
JCG13323
KATHY BUTTERLY
Assume Yes, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
7 3/4 x 6 x 6 1/2 in.
19.7 x 15.2 x 16.5 cm
JCG13326
KATHY BUTTERLY
Controlled Burn, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
8 1/2 x 7 x 6 1/2 in.
21.6 x 17.8 x 16.5 cm
JCG13324
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pause, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 x 8 x 6 in
17.8 x 20.3 x 15.2 cm
JCG12838
KATHY BUTTERLY
Active + Balance, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 7/8 x 6 x 5 7/8 in
20 x 15.2 x 14.9 cm
JCG12833
KATHY BUTTERLY
Active Start, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
12 1/4 x 8 1/2 x 8 in
31.1 x 21.6 x 20.3 cm
JCG12836
KATHY BUTTERLY
Rewild, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
11 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 8 3/4 in
28.6 x 24.1 x 22.2 cm
JCG12840
KATHY BUTTERLY
Yellow Build, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
7 1/2 x 6 3/8 x 5 5/8 in
19.1 x 16.2 x 14.3 cm
JCG12837
KATHY BUTTERLY
Super Green, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
6 x 7 x 5 in
15.2 x 17.8 x 12.7 cm
JCG12839
KATHY BUTTERLY
Summation, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
8 3/8 x 7 1/4 x 5 3/4 in
21.3 x 18.4 x 14.6 cm
JCG12834
KATHY BUTTERLY
Flux. Alter. Shift., 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
6 7/8 x 7 1/4 x 5 7/8 in
17.5 x 18.4 x 14.9 cm
JCG12832
KATHY BUTTERLY
Black and White and Red and Blue, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze
9 1/2 x 6 3/4 x 5 1/2 in
24.1 x 17.1 x 14 cm
JCG12831
KATHY BUTTERLY
Blue, 2020
Clay, glaze
6 1/8 x 6 x 6 1/4 in.
15.6 x 15.2 x 15.9 cm
JCG11943
KATHY BUTTERLY
Elevate, 2020
Clay, glaze
6 5/8 x 6 3/8 x 6 3/8 in.
16.8 x 16.2 x 16.2 cm
JCG11942
KATHY BUTTERLY
Deeply Spaced, 2020
Clay, glaze
6 3/4 x 6 x 4 1/4 in.
17.1 x 15.2 x 10.8 cm
JCG11944
KATHY BUTTERLY
Crossed Arms, 2019
Clay, glaze
6 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 1/4 in.
15.9 x 15.9 x 15.9 cm
JCG11088
KATHY BUTTERLY
Bold Green, 2019
Clay, glaze
10 x 8 3/4 x 9 1/4 in.
25.4 x 22.2 x 23.5 cm
JCG11087
KATHY BUTTERLY
It's a Matter, 2019
Clay, glaze
7 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 6 in
18.4 x 15.9 x 15.2 cm
JCG11086
KATHY BUTTERLY
Acid Yellow, 2019
Clay, glaze
6 1/2 x 7 x 5 3/4 in.
16.5 x 17.8 x 14.6 cm
JCG11085
KATHY BUTTERLY
New Space Place, 2018
Clay, glaze
7 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 9 in.
18.4 x 24.1 x 22.9 cm
JCG9753
KATHY BUTTERLY
Super Bloom, 2019
Clay, glaze
6 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 10 in.
15.9 x 24.1 x 25.4 cm
JCG10883
KATHY BUTTERLY
Offshore, 2019
Clay, glaze
5 1/4 x 6 1/4 x 7 in.
13.3 x 15.9 x 17.8 cm
JCG10424
KATHY BUTTERLY
Twist, 2019
Clay, glaze
8 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 8 in.
21 x 18.4 x 20.3 cm
JCG10423
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pink In Forming, 2019
Clay, glaze
6 1/2 x 5 1/4 x 6 in.
16.5 x 13.3 x 15.2 cm
JCG10422
KATHY BUTTERLY
Orange Tilt, 2018
Clay, glaze
6 7/8 x 9 x 8 7/8 in.
17.5 x 22.9 x 22.5 cm.
JCG9935
KATHY BUTTERLY
Group Knit, 2018
Nail polish on catalogue page
10 x 8 3/4 in.
Framed: 14 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.
37.8 x 34 cm.
JCG9947
KATHY BUTTERLY
Black Plaid, 2018
Clay, glaze
10 x 11 1/2 x 11 3/4 in.
25.4 x 29.2 x 29.8 cm.
JCG9994
KATHY BUTTERLY
Whirld, 2018
Clay, glaze
7 3/8 x 11 1/8 x 7 in.
18.7 x 28.3 x 17.8 cm.
JCG9997
KATHY BUTTERLY
Multi, 2018
Clay, glaze
5 1/2 X 5 1/4 X 5 3/8 in.
14 x 13.3 x 13.7 cm.
JCG9990
KATHY BUTTERLY
Distraction, 2018
Clay, glaze
4 7/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 1/4 in.
12.4 x 15.9 x 10.8 cm.
JCG9754
KATHY BUTTERLY
Flux, 2018
Clay, glaze
7 3/4 x 7 1/4 x 7 in.
19.7 x 18.4 x 17.8 cm.
JCG9996
KATHY BUTTERLY
Peaceable Yellow, 2018
Clay, glaze
5 1/8 x 4 7/8 x 3 1/4 in.
13 x 12.4 x 8.3 cm.
JCG9991
KATHY BUTTERLY
Green Reach, 2018
Clay, glaze
9 1/2 x 13 1/4 x 9 in.
24.1 x 33.7 x 22.9 cm.
JCG9940
KATHY BUTTERLY
Green Skattered, 2018
Clay, glaze
11 x 9 1/8 x 5 1/2 in.
27.9 x 23.2 x 14 cm.
JCG9936
KATHY BUTTERLY
Stockpile, 2018
Clay, glaze; wood base with pencil,
acrylic paint and nail polish
7 1/2 x 8 1/4 x 5 3/4 in.
17.8 x 21 x 14.6 cm.
JCG9938
KATHY BUTTERLY
Fixer, 2018
Clay, glaze
5 5/8 x 7 1/4 x 7 in.
14.3 x 18.4 x 17.8 cm.
JCG9998
KATHY BUTTERLY
Gravity Shift, 2018
Clay, glaze
9 x 7 7/8 x 7 in.
22.9 x 20 x 17.8 cm.
JCG9939
KATHY BUTTERLY
Grace, 2018
Clay, glaze
8 3/4 x 9 x 8 1/2 in.
22.2 x 22.9 x 21.6 cm.
JCG9937
KATHY BUTTERLY
Baked Sale, 2018
Clay, glaze
4 5/8 x 5 3/8 x 5 3/8 in.
11.7 x 13.7 x 13.7 cm.
JCG9993
KATHY BUTTERLY
Color Safe, 2018
Clay, glaze
9 3/8 x 8 1/4 x 8 in.
23.8 x 21 x 20.3 cm.
JCG9756
KATHY BUTTERLY
Slide Step, 2018
Clay, glaze
6 5/8 x 10 1/2 x 6 5/8 in.
16.8 x 26.7 x 16.8 cm.
JCG9941
KATHY BUTTERLY
Walk the Walk, 2018
Clay, glaze
4 3/8 x 5 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.
11.1 x 14.6 x 14 cm.
JCG9995
KATHY BUTTERLY
Yellow Glow, 2018
Clay, glaze
6 1/2 x 9 7/8 x 7 in.
16.5 x 25 x 17.8 cm.
JCG9992
KATHY BUTTERLY
Under Glow, 2018
Clay, glaze
10 3/8 x 6 x 6 in.
26.4 x 15.2 x 15.2 cm.
JCG9942
KATHY BUTTERLY
No Doubt, 2018
Clay, glaze
9 1/4 x 7 7/8 x 8 3/8 in.
23.5 x 20 x 21.3 cm.
JCG9989
KATHY BUTTERLY
Huddle, 2018
Clay, glaze
7 x 5 5/8 x 5 1/4 in.
17.8 x 14.3 x 13.3 cm
JCG9757
KATHY BUTTERLY
Crown, 2018
Clay, glaze
5 3/8 x 3 5/8 x 3 5/8 in.
13.7 x 9.2 x 9.2 cm
JCG9765
KATHY BUTTERLY
Inside Out, 2018
Clay, glaze
4 3/4 x 6 1/2 x 5 1/8 in.
12.1 x 16.5 x 13 cm
JCG9766
KATHY BUTTERLY
New Space Place, 2018
Clay, glaze
7 1/4 x 9 1/2 x 9 in.
18.4 x 24.1 x 22.9 cm
JCG9753
KATHY BUTTERLY
Lip Service, 2018
Clay, glaze
5 x 5 7/8 x 4 3/4 in.
12.7 x 14.9 x 12.1 cm
JCG9755
KATHY BUTTERLY
Mint Atmos, 2018
Nail polish on catalog page
9 x 8 in.
22.9 x 20.3 cm
Framed: 14 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.
37.8 x 34 cm.
JCG9954
KATHY BUTTERLY
Sheer Shear, 2018
Nail polish on catalogue page
9 x 8 7/8 in.
Framed: 14 7/8 x 13 3/8 in.
37.8 x 34 cm.
JCG9967
KATHY BUTTERLY
White Wash, 2017
Clay, glaze
6 3/4 x 7 x 3 3/4 in.
17.1 x 17.8 x 9.5 cm
JCG9648
KATHY BUTTERLY
Green Edge, 2017
Clay, glaze, wood base with acrylic paint
7 1/2 x 5 3/4 x 6 in.
19.1 x 14.6 x 15.2 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Swamped, 2017
Clay, glaze, wood base with nail polish
7 1/2 x 8 x 9 in.
19.1 x 20.3 x 22.9 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pink Line, 2017
Clay, glaze
4 3/8 x 7 x 4 1/8 in.
11.1 x 17.8 x 10.5 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Chaos Monkey, 2017
Clay, glaze
7 x 6 3/4 x 8 1/4 in.
17.8 x 17.1 x 21 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Red Band, 2014-2017
Clay, glaze
5 1/4 x 4 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.
13.3 x 10.8 x 8.3 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Broadcast, 2017
Clay, glaze
8 1/4 x 10 3/4 x 8 in.
21 x 27.3 x 20.3 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
November 9th, 2017
Clay, glaze
5 1/2 x 7 3/4 x 3 7/8 in.
14 x 19.7 x 9.8 cm
JCG10858
KATHY BUTTERLY
Solid Stand, 2016
Clay, glaze
5 7/8 x 6 1/4 x 4 3/8 in.
14.9 x 15.9 x 11.1 cm
JCG9697
KATHY BUTTERLY
Rest, 2017
Clay, glaze
7 x 8 1/4 x 9 1/2 in.
17.8 x 21 x 24.1 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Venus on the Move, 2016
Clay, glaze
4 7/8 x 5 x 4 in.
12.4 x 12.7 x 10.2 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Active Hold, 2016
Clay, glaze
5 1/4 x 7 1/4 x 3 3/4 in.
13.3 x 18.4 x 9.5 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Dream State, 2016
Clay, glaze
7 1/4 x 9 x 8 1/2 in.
18.4 x 22.9 x 21.5 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Middleclassiness, 2015
Clay, glaze
5 1/4 x 6 3/4 x 2 5/8 in.
13.3 x 17.1 x 6.7 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Loud Silence, 2013
Clay, glaze
4 3/4 x 4 3/4 x 4 in.
12.1 x 12.1 x 10.2 cm
JCG10852
KATHY BUTTERLY
Frill Seeker, 2015
Clay, glaze
4 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 4 in.
11.4 x 12.1 x 10.2 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Pirette, 2013
Clay, glaze, gold luster
4 5/8 x 4 1/2 x 3 in.
11.7 x 11.4 x 7.6 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Chatter, 2013
Clay, glaze
6 x 7 x 4 1/8 in.
15.2 x 17.8 x 10.5 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Jersey Poe, 2013
Clay, glaze
6 x 5 3/4 x 5 in.
15.2 x 14.6 x 12.7 cm
KATHY BUTTERLY
Change Maker, 2013
Clay, glaze
4 1/2 x 4 3/4 x 5 1/8 in.
11.4 x 12.1 x 13 cm
James Cohan Feature. Film by Greg Poole. Produced by James Cohan, 2022.
Kathy Butterly has created distinct, evocative sculptures for more than two decades, contributing to and expanding the tradition of studio ceramics. Through her practice, Butterly engages with concepts ranging from materiality and line to the history of the vessel. She uses traditional ceramic forms as her starting point, referring to these historical templates as her “canvas”; however, Butterly contorts and misshapes these forms in ways that veer toward the iconoclastic. She then adds layer upon layer of glaze – sometimes to the point of creating additional volume – and fires the works repeatedly. The colors and textures Butterly chooses and their relationship with each other are simultaneously seductive and jarring. Her strange forms and surprising palette decisions often generate an uncanny awareness in the viewer and produce a visceral impact.
Each of Butterly’s sculptures is unique and detailed. She eschews large-scale work, preferring instead to make concise, pithy compositions that express a wide variation of moods. Whether rising, collapsing, stalwart, or teetering, these sculptures exude a defiant and passionate individuality. Butterly exaggerates the echoes of figuration inherent in the vessel form, allowing the viewer to relate to her works on an intimate yet human level. The distinct, faceted personalities of these sculptures provide the works with their own raison d’être.
Kathy Butterly (b. 1963, Amityville, NY) has exhibited widely in the United States and internationally. The artist was most recently the subject of a solo exhibition, Kathy Butterly: Out of one, many / Headscapes, at the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis. The show traveled to the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine and will be up through March 5, 2023. In 2019, Butterly was the subject of a solo exhibition at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis. Recently, Butterly's work was featured in group exhibitions at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art in Bentonville, Arkansas, and the Anderson Collection at Stanford University. Kathy Butterly will be the subject of a major survey exhibition at the Tang Teaching Museum at Skidmore College, New York, in Fall 2025 with a substantial career-spanning catalogue.
Her works are in the permanent collections of institutions including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; the Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY; the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; the Detroit Institute of Arts, MI; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Portland Museum of Art, Portland, ME; and the de Young Museum, San Francisco, CA among others. In addition, Kathy Butterly has been the recipient of numerous awards and grants including a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Grant (2017), a Guggenheim Fellowship Award (2014), a Smithsonian American Art Museum’s Contemporary Artist Award (2012), a Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (2011), and a Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant (2009). Butterly received her BFA at Moore College of Art before earning an MFA at University of California, Davis. She lives and works in New York, NY.
Kathy Butterly has created distinct, evocative sculptures for more than two decades, contributing to and expanding the tradition of studio ceramics. Through her practice, Butterly engages with concepts ranging from materiality and line to the history of the vessel. She uses traditional ceramic forms as her starting point, referring to these historical templates as her “canvas”; however, Butterly contorts and misshapes these forms in ways that veer toward the iconoclastic. She then adds layer upon layer of glaze – sometimes to the point of creating additional volume – and fires the works repeatedly. The colors and textures Butterly chooses and their relationship with each other are simultaneously seductive and jarring. Her strange forms and surprising palette decisions often generate an uncanny awareness in the viewer and produce a visceral impact.
Our latest Feature explores Kathy Butterly's new exhibition, Color In Forming. From her East Village studio, Butterly discusses her intensive artistic process, the importance of scale, and the formative power of color in her most recent body of work.