Brookfield Craft Center Presents “A Touch of Color” Featuring the Work of Renowned Ceramicist Elizabeth MacDonald.
Brookfield, Connecticut —The Lynn Tendler Bignell Gallery & Retail Shop located at The Brookfield Craft Center
BCC will host “A Touch of Color”, an exhibition of the work of Elizabeth MacDonald from Saturday, May 16 through Sunday, July 19, 2026. An opening reception will be held May 16th from 4-6 PM immediately following BCC’s Spring Open House. All purchases will be tax exempt that day. Light refreshments will be offered. Admission is free and open to the public. Brookfield Craft Center is located at 286 Whisconier Road, Brookfield, CT.
Elizabeth MacDonald’s artistic journey spans more than five decades, rooted in an early life shaped by solitude in the landscapes of Western Massachusetts and later enriched by formal training in theater at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. After working in professional theater in New York and Seattle, she gradually shifted toward the visual arts, studying painting before discovering clay at Greenwich House Pottery. This transition became a defining turning point, allowing her to merge her theatrical sensibilities—narrative, space, and structure—with the tactile and expressive possibilities of ceramics.
Influenced by leading figures in the craft movement and supported by grants from the Connecticut Commission on the Arts, MacDonald developed a distinctive practice that blended hand built and thrown forms, experimental firing techniques, and an evolving interest in surface, color, and modular tile construction. Her work often reflects themes of memory, landscape, and the interplay between intimacy and vastness.
Over the past two decades, MacDonald has developed a body of work in white ceramic and porcelain, presented on white surfaces. “A Touch of Color” highlights these pieces and introduces subtle hues through a range of glazes and paints. The exhibition also features MacDonald’s paintings, both on canvas and on ceramic tile, offering a broader view of her artistic practice. A portion of the exhibition’s sales will support the Elizabeth MacDonald Fund, a newly established initiative dedicated to advancing the Ceramics program at BCC, with a particular focus on expanding its handbuilding offerings.
MacDonald’s exhibition history reflects both breadth and recognition within the contemporary craft and ceramics world.
She has presented numerous solo exhibitions across the United States, including in New York, Connecticut, Arizona, and New Mexico, while also participating in major group exhibitions at institutions such as the DeCordova Museum, the Hudson River Museum, and international venues in France, Yugoslavia, Japan, and Taiwan. Her work has been featured in prominent publications including The New York Times, Ceramics Monthly, and American Craft. Over time, she expanded into large-scale public and commissioned works, including architectural ceramic installations and murals in locations such as Hong Kong, Washington, D.C., Hartford, and Chicago. Her achievements were recognized with multiple awards, notably the Connecticut Governor’s Award for Visual Arts in 1999, and her work is held in numerous public and corporate collections, underscoring her lasting impact on the field of ceramic art.
For more information, contact Jillian Doherty at Brookfield Craft Center: (203) 775-4526