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Distributed for Smart Museum of Art, The University of Chicago

Ruth Duckworth: Life as a Unity

Life as a Unity

Published in conjunction with the first monographic exhibition of sculptor Ruth Duckworth’s work since 2006, this book makes use of art historical advances of the last several decades to examine her work and practice in a new light.

Ruth Duckworth: Life as a Unity offers an in-depth look at Duckworth’s practice and history, with essays that focus on her connection to geomorphology and its influence on her studio practice, her spiritual life, and how market demarcations like “sculpture” and “craft” came to shape our understanding of her artwork. Fully illustrated, the book includes many examples of her stoneware and ceramic works of abstract forms derived from nature as well as new documentation of the recently reinstalled public mural Clouds Over Lake Michigan. It features an introduction by exhibition curator Laura Steward with essays and other contributions from Abigail Winograd, Jack Schneider, and the University of Chicago Geophysics Professor, Douglas MacAyeal.

164 pages | 12.6 x 9.75 | © 2024

Art: American Art, Art Criticism, European Art


Table of Contents

Foreword
VANJA V. MALLOY
Introduction
LAURA STEWARD
Plates
One Big Lump of Clay
JACK SCHNEIDER
Astride Two Fields
LAURA STEWARD
Mother Earth: The Ecofeminist Strain
ABIGAIL WINOGRAD
Through the Portal
DOUGLAS MACAYEAL
Exhibition Checklist
Acknowledgments
Contributors
Photo Credits

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