Dunkerley Dialogue with Kathy Butterly, Elena Sisto, and Matthew Wilt

Join us Thursday, April 9, at 6 pm for a Dunkerley Dialogue with sculptor Kathy Butterly, whose works are on view in her solo exhibition Kathy Butterly: Assume Yes, in conversation with painter Elena Sisto and Matthew Wilt, Robert Davison Chair in Art and Associate Professor of Ceramics at Skidmore College.

Dunkerley Dialogues pair Skidmore professors with artists in a conversation format, which is often a catalyst for new connections and understandings across disciplines. Dunkerley Dialogues are made possible by a generous gift from Michele Dunkerley ’80.

This event is free and open to the public. The program will include ASL interpretation.

About the Speakers

Kathy Butterly is a sculptor who has reimagined the tradition of studio ceramics for nearly four decades. She begins with a traditional ceramic form, which she calls her “canvas,” and twists, compresses, and reshapes it into expressive and unexpected sculptures. Layered glazes and repeated firings give her works rich color and texture, creating pieces that can feel both playful and unsettling. Rather than working on a large scale, Butterly focuses on small, highly individual sculptures that suggest movement, personality, and emotion. Born in 1963 in Amityville, New York, she has exhibited widely in the United States and abroad. Her work is held in major museum collections, including The Museum of Modern Art and the Metropolitan Museum of Art. She lives and works in New York and Maine.

Elena Sisto is a painter known for her figurative works that center the lived experiences of women. Her paintings explore identity, memory, and the nuances of everyday life. She earned her BA in Art from Brown University and the Rhode Island School of Design and also studied at the New York Studio School, the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture, and Yale Norfolk. Sisto has received honors including a Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation Biennial Grant, a John Simon Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and National Endowment for the Arts Visual Artist Fellowships. She has been the subject of solo exhibitions at institutions including the Maier Museum, the Greenville County Museum of Art, the American University Museum at the Katzen Arts Center, and the Miami-Dade Museum of Art and Design. Her work is held in public and private collections, and she lives and works in New York City and Milan, New York.

Matthew Wilt is a ceramic artist and the Robert Davison Chair in Art and Associate Professor of Ceramics at Skidmore College. His work engages material history, surface, and architectural influence through sculptural and vessel-based forms. He earned his BFA in Ceramics and Art Education from Penn State University and his MFA from Ohio University. Early professional experiences at Boston Valley Terra Cotta and Moravian Pottery and Tileworks shaped his sustained interest in plaster mold making, imitative glaze surfaces, and architectural ornament. Wilt has exhibited nationally and internationally, and his work has received honors including grants from the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts and the Illinois Arts Council. His pieces are held in public collections such as the de Young Museum, the Crocker Art Museum, and the Ceramic Research Center at Arizona State University. He lives and works in New York.