Ceramicist Betty Woodman: Theatre of the Domestic, ICA

Betty Woodman is one of the most important ceramicists working today. The American artist combines traditional forms and materials to create dazzlingly innovative work, a major retrospective of which is on display at the ICA this spring.

Woodman’s entire output is informed by her knowledge of ceramics both ancient and modern; her paintings use the same unusual glazes, only applied directly to the handmade paper and Classical nudes adorn her bright majolica vases.

The fantastical ceramic vines that cling to the walls of this exhibition embody her playful irreverence. Woodman, now well into her eighties, arranges and rearranges her mis-matched clay pieces on the floor before deciding on their final position. The result is like a three-dimensional, Impressionist take on an extraterrestrial garden.

Her vases, sculptures and paintings may all be reflections on the techniques and forms of the past, but her characteristic ebullience and deep originality are anything but old fashioned.