Bunny, 2011; Bird, 2025

Annabeth Rosen’s heaped and piled ceramic sculptures are informed by a painterly sensibility. The fragility of each individual ceramic form is counterpoised by steel wire and a metal armature that holds these individual pieces together or aloft. Both Bunny and Bird incorporate small upright metal tables designed by Rosen. The resulting compositions are compelling – playful, but also strong and resilient. 

Her process expresses the primacy of systems, using materials that exploit natural forces and the natural world. She is perpetually fascinated by the changing nature of clay – its evolution from soft brown muck to a hard, shiny, knowable, and purposeful thing. In her hands, clay becomes a material capable of expressing emotions, breaking the barrier between visual and sensory experience. 

Rosen’s abstract assemblages are composed of newly created and existing forms. She gathers and uses remnants, broken pieces and parts, embracing rather than turning away from various stains, scars, or residual marks in the fired clay. By combining and incorporating all of these disparate elements, she creates sculptures that are both fearless and stunning, demonstrating that the whole can truly be greater than the sum of its bits and pieces. Within her work, are lessons that can be extrapolated to improve our collective dialogue and underlying social consciousness – by embracing everyone as they are, especially those who are overlooked and/or marginalized, we can be stronger, more beautiful, and resilient.  

Bunny and Bird are displayed in the Cottage Gallery, located near Parking Lot 2. The Cottage Gallery will be open Thursday to Sunday from 11am–3pm (or by appointment). If you would like to make an appointment, please email lap_programs@montalvoarts.org.