‘I consider her to be a pioneer in the field of contemporary ceramics. Her work continues to challenge traditions around practices of this genre and the history of contemporary art in general.’
– Valerie Cassel Oliver, Senior Curator Contemporary Arts Museum Houston.
Annabeth Rosen redefines ceramics as a bold sculptural medium, creating large-scale, unconventional works that challenge traditional ideas of ceramic. Embracing imperfection, physicality, and experimentation, her practice has played a central role in reshaping how ceramics are understood within contemporary fine art, firmly establishing her as a leading and influential voice in the field.
Rosen directly confronts the relationship between sculptural form and painterly surface. Her work explores the density and intensity that emerge through the accumulation of objects, marks, and ideas associated with eccentric abstraction. She stacks, constructs, fractures, wires, and rebuilds her sculptures, allowing them to exist in a continual state of flux. This process of fragmentation and reassembly operates both as a physical method of making and as a conceptual framework embedded within the work itself.
Rosen trained at Alfred University and the Cranbrook Academy of Art, laying the foundation that bridges rigorous studio practice and critical inquiry. Alongside her artistic career, she has maintained a significant commitment to teaching. She has held faculty positions at the Rhode Island School of Design, the University of the Arts, and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since 1997, she has held the Robert Arneson Endowed Chair at the University of California, Davis, reflecting her leadership and lasting influence in contemporary ceramics and sculpture.
Rosen’s ceramic sculptures are held in significant private collections and in the permanent collections of major public institutions, including:
Annabeth Rosen lives and works between Davis, California, and New York.