The Long Beach Museum of Art will present “Ruth Duckworth, Modernist Sculptor,” in the first US retrospective of this acclaimed ceramic artist, from May 5 through July 2. Internationally known for her hauntingly poetic sculpture, Duckworth is among the leading figures in the field of ceramic arts, inspiring generations of artists and designers with the power of her graceful forms. Organized by co-curators Thea Burger and Jo Lauria, Long Beach is the only West Coast museum to present “Modernist Sculptor.” The exhibition is accompanied by a fully illustrated catalog.

Ruth Duckworth, 87, continues to create new and unexpected forms and objects. “Modernist Sculptor” explores almost 50 years of the artist’s achievements in all media and shows the full range of Duckworth’s remarkably creative life sculpture, many pieces have never before been exhibited. Duckworth has worked with a wide range of materials and techniques including porcelain, stoneware, stone carving and bronze casting. This retrospective, which showcases more than 80 pieces and surveys her richly productive career, demonstrates Duckworth’s deep connections to nature, culture and the human figure, and provides an extraordinary opportunity to explore links between her groundbreaking minimalist sculptures and major currents in Twentieth Century modernism.

The Long Beach Museum of Art will feature a new audio tour program in conjunction with the Duckworth exhibit. This inaugural audio tour offers additional commentary on the exhibition by the museum’s curatorial and education staff and provides a resource to further understand the history and complexity of Duckworth’s extraordinary work.

Ruth Duckworth, untitled, 1946, stone, carving, 15 by 11 by 9 inches.

Born in Hamburg, Germany, in 1919, Ruth Duckworth moved withher family to England in 1936 during the rise of Nazi power. Thereshe studied art – at Liverpool School of Art, Hammersmith School ofArt and Central School of Arts & Crafts in London – and had herfirst exhibitions. In 1964 she accepted a one-year teachingappointment to the University of Chicago but continued in thisfaculty post for 13 years, and has lived in the United States sincethat time.

Duckworth’s work is represented in the collections of many esteemed international art museums, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art; Art Institute of Chicago; Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Contemporary Art, Chicago; Museum für Modern Keramik, Dudelsheim, Germany; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, Japan; Philadelphia Museum of Art; Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.; Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London.

She also has received many honors, including a 1993 Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Museum of Women in the Arts and a 1996 Gold Medal from the National Society of Arts and Letters. The Museum of Arts & Design named her a “Visionary!” in 2003. Most recently, she was awarded the 2006 Madigan Prize for Best Sculpture for a 15-foot bronze sculpture created for Northeastern Illinois University in 2005.

On a bluff overlooking the Pacific Ocean, the Long Beach Museum of Art is at 2300 East Ocean Boulevard. For more information, call 562-439-2119 or visit www.lbma.org.