About This Exhibition

In celebration of Beth Lipman–whose monumental, 3-ton sculpture Living History was recently unveiled in the museum’s Boeing Foyer–WAM presents All in Time, a mid-career retrospective of the artist featuring her work from the mid-2000s through today.

For over 20 years, artist Beth Lipman has used glass and other materials to create luscious and sumptuous still lifes. These still lifes feature everything from bowls of fruit to prehistoric plants to piles of books. For Lipman, each still life object speaks to identity–of an individual, a society, and of human culture in general. All in Time brings into focus Lipman’s long interest in using glass to explore issues of life, creation, decay, and death–the fleeting nature of human life and human history contrasted with the billions of years of geological time. What is the role of humanity and art in a world and universe that existed long before us? What do we create that endures?

Beth Lipman is a star of the contemporary art world. The Museum of Arts and Design staged a one-person survey exhibition last year with related catalogue. She has been honored with artist fellowships by the Pollock-Krasner Foundation and The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation. In 2013, she was honored by a Smithsonian Artist Research Fellowship. That same year, PBS featured her in the Craft in America documentary. In 2018, Lipman was elected a Fellow of the American Craft Council. Recently, the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art (Arkansas) and Chrysler Museum of Art (Virginia) have commissioned major Lipman artworks. She is currently working on a major project with the Toledo Museum of Art (Ohio). Her work is held in permanent collections across the country, from the de Young Museum in San Francisco to the Brooklyn Museum in New York.

Sculpture of clear glass vases, vessels, bowls on a white table with more glass bowls, vessels, vases and chain link suspended underneath the table. The table is sitting against a solid black background with a worn, hardwood floor in red tones.

Beth Lipman, Sphenophyllum and Chains, 2019. Glass, wood, metal, paint, adhesive, 54 x 38 x 50 inches. Courtesy of the artist. Photograph by Rich Maciejewski

Beth Lipman: All in Time is organized by the Wichita Art Museum.

The exhibition has been generously underwritten by presenting sponsor F. Price Cossman Memorial Trust, INTRUST Bank, Trustee. Sondra M. Langel provided major underwriting, and DeVore Foundation is a principal sponsor.

Additional generous support has been provided by Sue and Fred Berry, Sonia Greteman and Chris Brunner, Dr. Harold and Mrs. Evelyn Gregg, Terry and Lou Heldman, and Trish Higgins.

2022 exhibitions and public programs are generously supported by the Downing Foundation. All museum exhibitions receive generous sponsorship from the Friends of the Wichita Art Museum and the City of Wichita.

Artwork by Beth Lipman is by turns stunning and mesmerizing while thoughtful and rigorous. The excessive extravagance of clear glass inspires immediate delight.