MANCHESTER, N.H. — The Currier Museum of Art has announced a new series of exhibitions titled “Distant Conversations.” The series explores intergenerational dialogues and artistic conversations between practitioners who have not necessarily met in real life but whose work similarly resonates despite their differences. The cycle is curated by the museum’s chief curator, Lorenzo Fusi. The first installment of the series, “Distant Conversations: Ella Walker and Betty Woodman,” will run to October 22. The exhibition combines the work of British artist Ella Walker (b 1993, lives and works in London) and American artist Betty Woodman (1930-2018), who use art historical references in their work to revisit a male-dominated history of Western art and subvert its dominant narrative.
Woodman’s art is ambiguously positioned between the world of ceramics, sculpture, installation and painting. Globally recognized for her experimentation and inventiveness, Woodman greatly contributed to the revaluation of ceramics in contemporary art discourse and to its repositioning in art institutions in the United States and overseas. Italian art was an important influence for Woodman, who spent long periods of time in the country. Her knowledge of art history was vast and her curiosity all-encompassing, spanning from the Etruscan and Greco-Roman civilizations to Modernism with an eye on countries such as Japan, Turkey and China, globally known for the excellence of their ceramics and sophistication of their glazing and firing techniques. Woodman’s interest in figuration and the history of painting are also evident in her art, making the association with Walker’s work particularly stringent and convincing. During her long career, Woodman exhibited globally and created increasingly ambitious projects that were architectural in both complexity and scale.