Barbara Sorensen

Barbara Sorensen (born February 7, 1945) is an American artist. Her sculptures and multimedia installations mimic geological formations and natural landscapes, and are made from clay, metal, and resin. Sorensen works from art studios in Snowmass Village, Colorado and Winter Park, Florida.

Past exhibitions of Sorensen's artwork include a traveling retrospective called Topographies that was exhibited at the Orlando Museum of Art in January 2012, and a solo exhibition called Barbara Sorensen: Elemental at the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin in 2013.

Background

Sorensen grew up in Racine, Wisconsin. She studied as an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, where her adviser was ceramic artist, Don Reitz. In 1969, Sorensen received her Bachelor of Science degree in Art education. Sorensen worked as an art teacher from 1968 – 1971.

Starting in 1972, Sorensen worked alongside mentors and renowned ceramic artists Rudy Autio, Paul Soldner, Peter Voulkos, as well as former college adviser, Don Reitz.

Artwork

Sorensen makes sculptures and multimedia installations from clay, resin, and metal. Sorensen draws artistic inspiration from the natural world and classical elements. Sorensen is known for going on hiking adventures in New Zealand, Australia, and the Pyrenees, and from these explorations, Sorensen cultivates her artistic vision. Sorensen often uses the clay slab method in her clay-based sculptural works. In keeping with her interest in the natural environment, the clay slab method closely mimics geological phenomena, including plate tectonics.

Exhibits

In 2012, the Orlando Museum of Art mounted a retrospective of Sorensen's work called Topographies. The solo exhibition highlighted a twenty-year period of Sorensen's artwork, and focused on her resin and metal installations. A traveling exhibition, Topographies was also shown at the Manchester Craftsmen's Guild in Pittsburgh, the Leepa-Rattner Museum of Art in Tarpon Springs, Florida, the Museum of Florida Art, and the Orlando Museum of Art. Past exhibitions include a solo show at the Wichita Center for the Arts in Wichita, Kansas in 2012 called Barbara Sorensen, and at the Racine Art Museum in Racine, Wisconsin in 2013 called Barbara Sorensen: Elemental. Past group exhibitions include the XX-XY/Gender Representation in Art at the Orlando Museum of Art in 2010, and Finding Balance at the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft in Houston, Texas in 2006.