April 15 - May 15, 2021

60 Lispenard Street

P: 212 925 4631

New York, NY

Ceramics and Prints

Elisabeth

Kley

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Detail of Elisabeth Kley's Checkered Fountain with Broccoli Columns, 2020

Canada is pleased to present an online viewing room of new works by Elisabeth Kley, a renowned ceramist whose work takes on inspiration from various cultural art forms and architecture from around the world (Central Asia, Spain, and North Africa). This online viewing room has been curated in celebration of Elisabeth’s first solo museum exhibition titled Minutes of Sand, which is currently on view at the Fabric Workshop Museum in Philadelphia through August 15th, 2021.

Known for her distinctive black-and-white ceramic objects, Elisabeth Kley’s work stands at the nexus of pattern, decoration, and play. Kley studied painting in school and later picked up ceramics when her husband signed up for an introductory class in the late ‘90s. He did not much take to the medium, but Kley did. Since then, she has embraced an interdisciplinary practice with the creation of ceramic vessels and objects, drawings, prints, and wall paintings. From 1996 to 2015, Kley also developed a well-established voice as an arts writer and critic while maintaining her studio practice. She published reviews and features in several art publications, including ARTnews, Art in America, and PAJ: A Journal of Performance Art.

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Kley in studio, Winter 2021 (Photograph by Marquale Ashley)

From ancient Egyptian art to drag performances, chinoiserie to modern art, Kley draws inspiration from a myriad of global art traditions and other diverse sources. She is deeply tied to the idea of openness, acting as a conduit through which various motifs, patterns, and influences are channeled and transformed. Her work responds to world histories, artistic practices, and movements, illustrating the joy that comes from looking. 

Elisabeth Kley (b. 1956, New York) received her BA from Empire State College and studied at Hunter College. Her ceramics, watercolors, drawings and prints have been featured in an exhibition history spanning over 25 years; recent solo and two-person exhibitions include Garden: Elisabeth Kley and Tabboo!, Gordon Robichaux, New York, NY (2019); Elisabeth Kley, Window on Broad, Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA (2019); Flowers Out of Water, Pierre Marie Giraud, Brussels, Belgium (2017); Ozymandias, CANADA, New York, NY (2016); translucent threads of dawn (with Conrad Ventur), Regina Rex, New York, NY (2015); and A Sign of Eternal Beauty (with Florence Derive), GAVLAK, Palm Beach, FL (2015). She is represented by CANADA; the gallery published a monograph on her work with Pre-Echo Press in 2019. Kley lives in Manhattan and works in Brooklyn.

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Elisabeth Kley
Checkered Fountain with Broccoli Columns, 2020
Glazed earthenware
33 × 11 ¾ × 11 ¾ inches (83.82 × 29.85 × 29.85 cm)
$13,000

Elisabeth Kley
Double Stack Pointing Two Ways, 2021
Glazed earthenware
44 × 17 × 13 ½ inches (111.76 × 43.18 × 34.29 cm)

Elisabeth Kley
Egyptian Shield Bottle, 2020
Glazed earthenware
28 × 16 ½ × 12 ¼ inches (71.12 × 41.91 × 31.12 cm)

Elisabeth Kley
Egyptian Theater Mailbox Bottle, 2019
Glazed earthenware
20 × 12 ½ × 13 ¼ inches (50.80 × 31.75 × 33.66 cm)

Elisabeth Kley
Hyoutan Bottle with Intertwined Flowers, 2019
Glazed earthenware
20 ½ × 12 × 12 inches (52.07 × 30.48 × 30.48 cm)

Elisabeth Kley
Coptic Planter with Arrows, 2020
Glazed earthenware
14 × 10 ½ × 10 ½ inches (35.56 × 26.67 × 26.67 cm)

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Elisabeth Kley
Hyoutan Bottle Prints (2018-2020)
Relief print on handmade Japanese paper
22 × 15 ¾ × 1 ½ inches (55.88 × 40.01 × 3.81 cm) (framed)

Elisabeth Kley
K with Flowers, 2020
Glazed earthenware
20 ½ × 13 × 9 ½ inches (52.07 × 33.02 × 24.13 cm)

Elisabeth Kley
Lotus Right Angle, 2020
Glazed earthenware
21 × 19 × 10 inches (53.34 × 48.26 × 25.40 cm)

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download-2021-04-21T102634.736

Elisabeth Kley
Cylinder group, 2013-2015
Glazed earthenware
Untitled Cylinder, 2015: 4 ¼ × 1 ¾ × 1 ¾ inches (10.80 × 4.45 × 4.45 cm)
Cylinder with Blue Spots, 2013: 3 × 2 × 2 inches (7.62 × 5.08 × 5.08 cm)
Cylinder with Turquoise Wings, 2015: 4 ⅜ × 1 ½ × 1 ½ inches (11.11 × 3.81 × 3.81 cm)
Cylinder with Green Leaves, 2015: 4 ½ × 2 × 2 inches (11.43 × 5.08 × 5.08 cm)

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Elisabeth Kley
Cylinder group, 2008-2013
Glazed earthenware
Orange Wing Face Cylinder, 2008: 7 ¼ × 2 ⅝ × 2 ⅝ inches (18.42 × 6.67 × 6.67 cm)
Cylinder with Red Leaf, 2008: 5 ⅞ × 2 ½ × 2 ½ inches (14.92 × 6.35 × 6.35 cm)
Cylinder with Red Spotted Flower, 2013: 2 ¾ × 2 × 2 inches (6.99 × 5.08 × 5.08 cm)

 (Photography: Marquale Ashley)

Canada Online Viewing Room

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© Canada 2020

Design by Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle

Selected Works

Dream SpeakRachel Eulena Williams

ZzyzxChristina Sucgang

HomesickSadie Laska

Promised LightLuke Murphy

ReadersKiyoshi Tsuchiya

ComeCloseJoan Snyder

NocturnesAnke Weyer

Arms and the SeaKatherine Bradford

Objet OuttaKen Resseger

Last LandscapesGerald Ferguson

Leroy's LuncheonAzikiwe Mohammed

Frisson CityLee Relvas

Reassembler 3Brian Belott

A Ball is for ThrowingElizabeth McIntosh

Ambient MusicLee Mary Manning

TORSOAnnabeth Marks

BiscuitLyric Shen

Body ForthMatt Connors

A Cliff to ClimbRyan Preciado

Library of a DreamRobert Janitz

Gold GoldRJ Messineo

On ValentinesSpencer Lewis

Who is afraid of Natasha?Joanna Malinowska & CT Jasper

USMichael Mahalchick

TRANSFIGURATIONAurora Pellizzi

The Thick StreamGroup Exhibition

5 SeasonsJason Fox

Mother PaintingsKatherine Bradford

Ceramics and PrintsElisabeth Kley

Black Femme: Sovereign of WAP and the Virtual Realm curated by Christiana Ine-Kimba Boyle

#VayaConDiosKatherine Bernhardt

DrawingsJason Fox

Heart, HeartAnke Weyer

Tracing MemoryRachel Eulena Williams

Rayos De SombraRobert Janitz

GorpTyson Reeder

EREHWONSadie Laska