1000 Museums

Betty Cleeland’s painting weaves together art and mathematics, exploring patterns and colors found both in textiles and in the natural world. She primarily works with oil paints and linen. Betty Cleeland was born in Decatur, Illinois in 1943 and pursued a Bachelor of Art at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, graduating in 1969. She followed this in 1973 by achieving an M.S.Ed in Art from Southern Illinois University. Betty Cleeland cites Josef Albers as one of her largest influences from a young age. Betty Cleeland’s work has been exhibited in both group shows and solo exhibits widely across the United States in museums, independent galleries, and university showings. Betty Cleeland states that the inspiration for her most recent work has been from European tapestries and ancient textiles, but she has previously drawn from variable sources such as dance-step diagrams and the night sky. Betty Cleeland explores the relationship between color and pattern in her works, particularly how one color is impacted by the colors that surround it. Betty Cleeland continues to work. Her most recent exhibition was in 2018 at the Hofheimer Gallery.