Kathy Erteman, photograph by Sarah Weal
Kathy Erteman (United States, b. 1952) is a New York-based ceramic artist dividing her time between studios in New York City and the Hudson Valley. With a studio practice spanning more than 40 years, Erteman creates both functional and non-functional vessels as well as wall mounted compositions and installations. Employing technical expertise with a modernist aesthetic, her work demonstrates a reductive approach to formal composition resulting in works that are minimal in form activated by abstract surface decoration and subtle texture. Erteman describes her process and relationship to the medium: “As my craftsmanship skill increases, my desire to control the process lessens. Control versus chance currently plays a larger role in my work as I too surrender to the process and allow the clay to speak more freely.”
Erteman, a native of Santa Monica, CA, received her BFA in ceramics from California State University Long Beach. After graduating, she interned with Judy Chicago, working on The Dinner Party ceramic installation. Erteman’s work has been exhibited internationally and is included in private and public collections including the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian Institute, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Taipei Museum of Fine Arts, Icheon World Ceramic Museum, and the Johnson Collection.
EDUCATION
BFA, California State University, Long Beach, CA
BA, UCLA, Department of Fine Arts, Los Angeles, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022
Hostler Burrows, Los Angeles, CA
2015
Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
2013
Cross Mackenzie Gallery, Washington DC
George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
2012
Gremillion & Co. Fine Arts, Houston, TX
2010
Cross Mackenzie Gallery, Washington DC
2009
Burger Art Galleries, Kean University, Union, NJ
Jane Hartsook Gallery, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
1999
American Craft Museum Window Showcase, New York, NY
1992
Maveety Gallery, Salishan, OR
1988
Oakland Museum Collectors Gallery, Oakland, CA
1987
Craft Alliance, St. Louis, MO
Lawrence Gallery, Portland, OR
1985
Walter White Fine Arts, Carmel, CA
1983
Gallery 500, Elkins Park, PA
1982
Contemporary Craft Association, Portland, OR
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025
Shades of Winter, Women’s Art Center of the Hamptons, Bridgehampton, NY
2024
Ceramics +: Drawing into Sculpture, LICA Gallery, Queens, NY
2022
Reflections at a Milestone, The Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY
2019
Four Artists Explore Abstraction, Wired Gallery, High Falls, NY
Gyeonggi International Korean Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, South Korea
Summer Ceramics Show, Carter Burden Gallery, NY
The Salon Art + Design, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY
2018
New Ceramic Artists, Hostler Burrows, New York, NY
FOG Design + Art, Hostler Burrows, San Francisco, CA
2017
Redux: Transformations 6X6, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
2016
Confluence/Influence in Contemporary Abstraction, Dorsky Gallery, Long Island City, NY
Hot Pots, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
Wired Gallery, High Falls, NY
2015
Faculty Exhibition, Greenwhich House Pottery, New York, NY
2014
American Pottery Festival, Northern Clay Festival, Minneapolis, MN
2013
In the Cast, Trax Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2012
Architectural Digest Home Show, Cross Mackenzie Gallery, New York, NY
Celadon Gallery, Watermill, NY
2011
Faculty Exhibition, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
2010
Convergence: Pottery from Studio and Factory, Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, PA
Illuminations, Liebovitz Gallery, Bard College/Simon’s Rock, Great Barrington, MA
2009
Modernism, Mark MacDonald, New York, NY
2008
Black and White, Mark Gallery, Englewood, NJ
Dine on Design, Monkeytown, Brooklyn, NY
Made in Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Maxwell Fine Art, Peekskill, NY
2007
Bowls, Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts, Washington, DC
Ceramic Explorations in Black and White, Ball State University, Muncie, IN
Eat with Your Eyes, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Plates and Platters Salon Style, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
2006
Black and White, Cross Mackenzie Ceramic Arts, Washington, DC
Friends: With a Vision, Weber Fine Arts, Greenwich, CA
Kathy Erteman and Maren Kloppmann, Trax Gallery, Berkeley, CA
National Ceramics Invitational, Blue Spiral Gallery, Asheville, NC
30X5, Akar Gallery, Iowa City, IA
2005
Masters in Clay, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Poetry of Pottery, Maryland Federation for the Arts, Baltimore, MD
2004
Power of Pottery Invitational, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2003
Masters in Clay, The Clay Studio, Philadelphia, PA
Power of Potter Invitational, Dunedin Fine Art Center, Dunedin, FL
2002
For the Table, Santa Fe Clay, Santa Fe, NM
2001
International Infusion, Sybaris Gallery, Royal Oak, MI
Objects for Use: Handmade by Design, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
2000
Black and White, Jane Hartsook Gallery, New York, NY
Ceramic National, Everson Museum, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY
Color and Fire: Defining Moments in Contemporary Ceramics, 1950–2000, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
1999
Faculty Show, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
National Teapot Show IV, Cedar Creek Gallery, NC
To Life, to Light, American Craft Museum, New York, NY
Strictly Functional Pottery National, PA
1998
Made in Clay, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Small Works 6, Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
Whichcraft Gallery, Millburn, NJ
1996
Friedman Images Gallery, Louisville, KY
Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
1995
The American Craft Museum, New York, NY
PROFESSIONAL ACTIVITIES
2019
Honorable Mention, Gyeonggi International Korean Ceramic Biennale, Icheon, South Korea
2016
Art Ichol International Ceramic Sculpture Residency & Symposium, Maihar India
2012–14
Ngawang Choephel Professional Fellows Cultural Exchange Fulbright
2010
State Department Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs & The Mountain Institute, Tibet/US Cultural Exchange Grant, Senior Design Consultant
2009
United Nations Committee for Sustainable Economic Development, Presentation
2008
Artist in Residence, Singapore American School, Singapore
2007
Aid to Artisans / The Mountain Institute / USAID Design Consultancy with Nixi Tibetan Potters, Yunnan, China
2006
New York Creates Artist Technology Grant
2005
Artist in Residence, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY
1999
Artist in Residence, Adjunct Professor, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY
New York Foundation for the Arts Grant
1998
Cooper-Hewitt Design Museum Benefit Designer/Participant
1992
Juror, Marin Arts Council, Grants to Individuals
1990
President, Board of Directors, Arts Benicia, a Nonprofit Arts Organization
1989
Guest Lecturer and Visiting Artist, Bezalel Academy of Art, Jerusalem, Israel
1986
Curator, Modern Pottery, Mendocino Art Center, CA
1976–78
Dinner Party Project / Judy Chicago
DESIGN
Aid to Artisans
Crate & Barrel
Dansk
Peter Marino Architect
Tiffany
COLLECTIONS
American Museum of Ceramic Art, Pomona, CA
Dorsky Museum, New Paltz, NY
Icheon World Ceramic Museum, Icheon, South Korea
Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, CA
Pritzker Family Collection
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC
San Angelo Museum of Art, San Angelo, TX
SC Johnson Corporate Collection, Racine, WI
Scottsdale Center for the Arts, Scottsdale, AZ
Stanley Museum of Art, Iowa City, IA
Surdna Foundation, New York, NY
Taipei Museum of Fine Arts, Taiwan, China
University of Oregon Museum of Art, Portland, OR
TEACHING & WORKSHOPS
1996–Present
Ceramic Instructor, Greenwich House Pottery, New York, NY
2012–14
US/Tibet Cultural Exchange Study Tour, United States and China
2012
"Clay Monoprints with Kathy Erteman," Clay Arts Guild of the Hamptons, Water Mill, NY
2011
Monoprint on Clay Workshop, Clay Art Center, Port Chester, NY
2010
Design Workshop, California State University, Long Beach, CA
Lecture, Simon's Rock / Bard College, Great Barrington, MA
US State Department Tibet Cultural Exchange Tour, Jingdezhen, China
2009
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
2008
Artist in Residence, Singapore American School, Singapore
Monoprint on Clay Workshop, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, NY
2007
Dinner Party China Painting Workshop, Brooklyn Museum of Art, Brooklyn, NY
Workshop and Panel Discussion, Northern Clay Center, Minneapolis, MN
2006
"Luster and China Paint," Greenwich House Pottery, New York
Plaster Turning Workshop, SUNY New Paltz, New York
2005
Artist in Residence, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY
2003
Brooklyn Museum of Art, China Paint Workshop, Brooklyn, NY
1997
Artist in Residence and Adjunct Professor, SUNY New Paltz, New Paltz, NY
1996–99
Parsons School of Design, New York, NY
1989
Guest Lecturer and Visiting Artist, Bezalel Academy of Art, Jerusalem, Israel
1977–80
City of Cerritos Ceramic Program Instructor, Cerritos, CA
BIBLIOGRAPHY
2019
Koplos, Janet. What Makes A Potter: Functional Pottery in America Today, Schiffer Publishing, p. 214.
2017
Burroughs, Katrina. “Ceramics,” London Times, April 23, 2017.
Dr. Folk, Tom. “Studio Ceramics at Chelsea Passage, Barneys, NY: 1985-1995,” Journal American Art Pottery Association, p. 16–23, April issue.
2016
Carter, Ben. “Kathy Erteman Straddling Art and Design,” Tales of a Red Clay Rambler.
2014
“Aid to Artisans,” With These Hands, Preserving the Tradition of Nixi Pottery.
2013
Kushner, Robert. “Kathy Erteman at George Billis Gallery,” Brooklyn Rail, December 8, 2013.
Leng, Chelsea. “The Physical and the Visual: Kathy Erteman,” China Ceramics Monthly, Issue 12.
Zollner, Andrew. “The Craft of Design,” American Craft, Digital Issue, p. 55.
2012
O’Keeffe, Linda. Stripes: Design Between the Lines, Monacelli Press, p. 147
2010
O’Keeffe, Linda. Brilliant: White in Design, Monacelli Press
Erteman, Kathy. “Crossing Over,” Studio Potter, Summer/Fall, Volume 38, Number 2, p. 16
2009
Smith, Roberta. “Modernism + Art20: One-Stop Eyeful of Mediums at Park Avenue Armory,” The New York Times, November 13, 2009.
DiNoto, Andrea. “Not Everything is Black and White,” American Craft, September 2009.
2008
Harten, Claire. Hand Eye Magazine, Fall 2008.
2003
“Black Ceramics,“ O Magazine, January, p. 80
2002
O’Keefe, Linda. “Nesting Instinct,” Metropolitan Home, January issue, p. 108.
Dorian, Donna. “Brimful of Elegance,” Garden Design, November issue, p. 23.
2001
Hluch, Kevin. The Art of Contemporary American Pottery, Kraus Publications, p. 10.
2000
Nakajima, Fumiko. “Table Revolution,” Spur Magazine, Japan, p. 313.
“Urban Legends,” Bon Appetit, November, p. 166.
1999
G.W. “Kathy Erteman, Die Asthetic des Gebrauchs,” Neue Keramik, January issue, p. 407.
1998
Fina, Angela & Chris Gustin. The Best of Pottery, Vol. 2, Quarry Books, p. 39.
O’Keeffe, Linda. “Natural Grace,” Metropolitan Home, July issue, p. 10.
“Accessories,” Interior Design, May issue.
“Modern Living,” Metropolitan Home, November issue, p. 84.
1997
“Style Beat,” House Beautiful, December issue, p. 28.
Loughran, Patrick. “Baladé a New York,” Ceramique et du Verre, September, p. 36.
1994
O’Keeffe, Linda. “Potted Tales,” Elle Décor, April issue, p. 42.
1993
Rothrock, Kate. ”Kathy Erteman,” Ceramics Monthly, November issue, pp. 38–43.
Patton, Phil. “Design,” Esquire, March issue, p. 31
Smith, Roberta. “The Shop as the Mirror of a Museum’s Soul,” The New York Times, February 5, 1993, p. C1.
“Opposites Attract,” Home, May issue, p. 121.
1992
Nigrosh, Leon. Sculpting Clay, Davis Publications, p. 133.
1984
Boettger, Suzanne. "Neon Sculpture at Ana Gardner Gallery,” Artforum, March issue.
1983
“Collecting the Crafts,” American Craft, February issue.
Williams, Gerry. “A Survey of Bay Area Potters,” Studio Potter, Vol. 13, No. 1, p. 25.
