Betsy Alwin
Circumscribed
ceramic
Artist Statement
I am interested in the moments where two contradictory ideas coexist. Circumscribed is a work derived from a drawing I created in response to the news that a dear friend had terminal ovarian cancer. I imagined a uterus as both a system of roots with flower Fallopian tubes and hummingbirds that could also be seen as a bull skull, a symbol of death or decay. The imagery is a celebration and an acknowledgement. In this work, I want to convey the life and death cycle as both closed and open. Rather than death and life being opposites, they are a complete entity, completely natural and beautiful.
Artist bio
Betsy Alwin is a sculptor working across media. She attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture and holds an MFA from Illinois State University. Her work has been exhibited widely, including the Berkshire Botanical Gardens (Mass MoCA), the National Botanic Gardens in Washington D.C., AIR Gallery, New York, The Phipps Center, Hudson WI, and most recently in the Colorado Ceramics Educators Exhibition in Denver, CO. Public commissions include sculptures at the Onoden Elementary School in Tokyo, Japan, Franconia Sculpture Park in Shafer, MN and Silverwood Park in St. Anthony, MN. She is the recipient of numerous awards, including two Artist Individual Support grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board and a finalist for the Jingdezhen Prize in China in 2025. She is represented by Rubine Red Gallery in Palm Springs, CA.
