Beverly Magennis

Beverley Magennis (born 1942) is a ceramic sculptor who works within the nexus of tile and architectural form.

Early life Born in Toronto, Beverley Magennis is a self-described feminist who covers architectural forms in ceramic tiles.

Magennis received her AOCA from the Ontario College of Art in Toronto in 1964 and received her MA in Ceramics from the Claremont Graduate School and University Center in California in 1968.

Magennis came to New Mexico in the 1970s as a part of Roswell's Artist-in-Residence program, and taught art in Chama, New Mexico. She is well-known for her ceramic-tiled chairs, which usually include cats or birds, known as The Tile House, and was created during an 11-year period from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. It now belongs to Beverly's daughter, Erin Magennis, and her husband Kyle Ray, both artists carrying on the mosaic tradition.

The Dome Lady, which stands 26 feet tall, and around 19 feet wide is a guest house located in Apache Creek, New Mexico. With a concrete foundation, its skirt is reinforced with rebar concrete walls and the torso is constructed of metal lathe. The exterior is decorated in mosaic tile, with an entrance and windows. The torso is constructed has a bondo finish and is painted. The stucco interior contains a small kitchen, mosaic countertops, dining table, and sleeping quarters.

The 22 foot high mosaic sculpture, Tree of Life, created in 1999 and located at Fourth Street and Montano Rd. in North Valley, Albuquerque, New Mexico, is an artwork referencing the early peoples of Mexico and New Mexico, with black and white animal images referencing Native American Mimbres pottery, as well as color figures from the Maya culture.

The Full Circle, located in Zia Park, Albuquerque, New Mexico, dates to 1990, and is another great example of her public mosaic sculptural installation works. It incorporates a ceramic tiled round bench surrounded by a low ceramic tiled wall, with a rainbow motif and other whimsical Native American symbols and figure, integrating into the adjacent playgrounds and Zia Elementary School.

Untitled (Chairs), are held in the New Mexico Museum of Art in Santa Fe, and were created in 2000. They are ceramic mosaic on cement sculpture and installed outside the museum. The floral motifs integrate into the grassy courtyard in which they are installed; "combining seemingly naive subject matter with a sophisticated sense of design and quirky sense of humor."

Patio Chair with Black Cat, held in the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History, was created in 1999 and features her signature ceramic mosaic, heavy sculptural architectonic style, and decorative motifs.

The Parade, is a series of mosaic pillars installed at the University of New Mexico Hospital/1992

The Walkway, is a mosaic pathway at the Albuquerque Art Museum/1991

Alibi Creek, a novel about life in rural Catron County, New Mexico (March 2016)