Barrie Kaufman: Life Leading to the Arctic

SEPTEMBER 26, 2026 - JANUARY 10, 2027

Barrie Kaufman: Life Leading to the Arctic traces five decades of Kaufman’s multidisciplinary practice, spanning printmaking, painting, glass, and ceramics, culminating in her most recent body of work inspired by her long-awaited exploration of the Arctic. For years, the Arctic stood as both a personal and artistic goal: a place where Kaufman could witness firsthand the fragile beauty and accelerating environmental change she had long contemplated in her work.

This exhibition charts the evolution of her career, bringing together landmark series and rarely seen works from institutional and private collections, offering a rare opportunity to experience the full arc of Kaufman’s artistic journey—from early investigations to the fulfillment of a lifelong ambition to create in direct response to the environmental realities of the Arctic.

This exhibition is presented with support from the Bernard H. & Blanche E. Jacobson Foundation, Daywood Foundation, The Elliot Family Foundation, Herscher Foundation, Inc., and Friends of Clay Center. The Clay Center’s performing and visual arts offerings are presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Tourism and the National Endowment for the Arts.