The reliance on basic forms is not new in Butterly’s work, but her focus on circles and squares— the shapes with which each sculpture begins—is a depar- ture, and permits unlocking an infinite range of emo- tions from seemingly fixed quantities. As she puts it, the question becomes, “how do you get a square to feel,” thereby making the “bottom” as import- ant as the vessel—the “top”—it supports.
—Nancy Princenthal
Continuity is one of the most striking aspects of Butterly’s practice. Experienced en masse, her sculptures give the impres- sion of a single river, containing count- less currents within itself yet always flowing forward; or of a musical com- position, complete with phrasing, harmonics, rhythm and dynamics.
—Glenn Adamson
Scale is critical to Butterly. It’s not about the actualsizeofthepiece.Findingtheright scale as well as the right color sets the piece apart. It becomes monumental and metaphorical, almost a vision of itself—little but big. —Elena
Sisto
Eddy’s Skirt, 1994
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Tang Museum collection, Gift of Elizabeth Harvey Levine, 2024.4.2
2
Sprout, 1994
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Richard Shebairo
3
Knititation, 1998
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Tang Museum collection, Purchase, 2024.2
4
Knit Cap, 1994
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Elizabeth Harvey Levine
5
Garter, 1996
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of BROCK & CO., Concord, Massachusetts
6
Double Knit, 1996
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Elizabeth Harvey Levine
7
Clam, 1996
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Elizabeth Harvey Levine
8
Like Butter, 1997
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Collection of the artist 9
Necklace Piece, 1994
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Collection of the artist 10
Fruit Striped, 1995
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Tang Museum collection, Gift of the Alex Katz Foundation, 2025.31
11
Red Shimmy, 1997
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Judy and Marty Schwartz
12
Sumo, 1996
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Private Collection, San Francisco
13
Jiggle, 1997
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Dorothy and George Saxe to the Fine Arts Museum Foundation, 2005.163.9.2
14
She Dynasty, 1998
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Dorothy and George Saxe to the Fine Arts Museum Foundation, 2005.163.9.1
15
2 Reals, 1999
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Gift of Dorothy and George Saxe to the Fine Arts Museum Foundation, 2005.163.9.3
16
Wave ‘Em Like You Just Don’t Care, 2001
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Tang Museum collection, Gift of Elizabeth Harvey Levine, 2024.4.1
17
Tongue Tied 2, 2001
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Courtesy of Corina Larkin
18
Heavy Head 2 (Toro), 2003–2004
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Elizabeth Harvey Levine
TABLE TWO
19
More Plenty, 2007
Tang Museum collection, Gift of the Schonfeld Collection, 2025.37.2
20
Mushroom Nirvana, 2011
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Collection of the artist
21
Mask, 2003
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Tang Museum collection, Gift of Elizabeth Harvey Levine, 2024.4.3
22
Flotation Homification, 2003
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Private collection, Courtesy of Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles
23
Super Bloom, 2019
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of The Ruttenberg ’52 Collection
24
Sow 2, 2003
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Joel Wachs
25
Honey, 2010
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Fotene Demoulas
26
The Last Straw, 2004
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of BROCK & CO., Concord, Massachusetts
27
Solid Stand, 2016
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Collection of John and Gina Wasson
28
November 9th, 2017
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Erin and Paul Pariser
29
Loud Silence, 2013
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Peter Frey and Carrie Shapiro
30
Line Dance, 2012
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Private collection, Courtesy of Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles
31
Cenote, 2004
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Lucasen Brown
TABLE THREE
32
After Easy, 2008
Porcelain, earthenware, glaze, and enamel paint
Courtesy of Corina Larkin
33
Color Safe, 2018
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of David Kirschenbaum
34
No Doubt, 2018
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Corina Larkin
35 Pause, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Collection of the artist
36
Pink Remedy, 2020
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Michael Abrams and Sandra Stewart
37
Pink in Forming, 2019
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Emily and Teddy Greenspan
38
Luminous Flow, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Courtesy of the Shah Garg Collection
39
This, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Courtesy of David Charak
40
Assume Yes, 2022
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Private Collection
41
Cinder Moss, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Courtesy of the artist
42
Yellow Build, 2021
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Courtesy of Fotene Demoulas
43
Nightside Out, 2025
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of the artist and James Cohan Gallery
44
Merlot, 2025
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze Collection of the artist
WALL
45
Heavy Red, 2023
Porcelain, earthenware, and glaze
Courtesy of Corina Larkin
Kathy Butterly (b. 1963, Amityville, New York) has created distinctive, small-scale sculptures for nearly four decades, expanding the tradition of studio ceramics. Beginning with traditional vessel shapes, Butterly stretches and contorts her forms beyond recognition, provoking evocative and even challenging associations, from the anatomical to the cosmically profound. Color plays an equally significant role, as Butterly often builds the very volume of her forms through repeated glaze applications, firing works in the kiln up to forty times. Throughout her practice, Butterly engages the history of ceramics, color theory, and human psychology, all while pushing the limits of her chosen media. Her most recent works, which she refers to as “sculptural diptychs,” combine porcelain forms on cubic earthenware bases in conversation with her masterful use of color and texture.
Butterly has exhibited widely internationally and within the United States, including her first museum solo exhibition, Opener 10: Kathy Butterly—Freaks and Beauties, at the Tang Museum in 2005. Her work has also been surveyed at the Jan Shrem and Maria Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at the University of California, Davis, in 2019, and in a traveling exhibition originating at the Contemporary Art Museum Saint Louis in 2021. Butterly received her BFA from Moore College of Art and Design in Philadelphia, and her MFA from the University of California, Davis. She lives and works in New York and Maine.
Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes is curated by Dayton Director Ian Berry in collaboration with the artist, with support from the New York State Council on the Arts, Ted Rowland, Nigel Dawn and Corina Larkin, and the Friends of the Tang.