World-renowned ceramic artist Beth Cavener will give a lecture to the College of Art & Design on Monday, January 29, 2024 at 4:30 p.m. in 103 Julian T. White Hall Auditorium (formerly Design Building.)

Cavener is the special guest juror for the Baton Rouge Gallery’s Surreal Salon 16. This lecture is offered in partnership with the Baton Rouge Gallery and the LSU School of Art. Her presentation will touch on her own work, her career as a professional artist, pop-surrealism, as well as the collection of works featured in Surreal Salon 16.

Beth Cavener’s sculptural works symbolize deep anxieties, concealed thoughts, and suppressed emotions we hide from others and ourselves. These sculptures reflect both animalistic and human qualities, encouraging viewers to confront the darker aspects of humanity through the veneer of animal representation. The sculptures capture tension, depicting animals in moments of coiling, pulling, and resting in repose, alluding to the complexities of human nature.

Beth Cavener’s art is renowned for the globally recognizable and often weightless movements of its figures. She uses large clay blocks, weighing hundreds of pounds, to physically engage in shaping the forms and gestures of her sculptures. Her work defies categorization due to its deeply personal and timeless nature. Cavener focuses on specific emotions like fear or anger, dedicating years to dissecting and exploring them like a scientist in a lab.

Cavener has exhibited her work across the globe at institutions including the Smithsonian Museum of American Art (Washington, D.C.), The New Taipei County Yingge Ceramics Museum (Taipei, Taiwan), and The Museum of Fine Arts (Houston, TX). Her work is also featured in the permanent collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, NY), the Chazen Museum of Art (Madison, WI), and the Honolulu Museum of Contemporary Art (Honolulu, HI), among others. She also runs a professional studio space in Helena, MT called Studio 740 that provides support and mentorship for emerging artists.

This lecture is open to the public and is free to attend.