A Guide to the Best of Southern California : THE ARTS : ‘Naughty Figures’

SHE CALLS THEM her “naughty figures,” because they allowed her an outlet for the rebellious side of her creative nature. Beatrice Wood’s sculptures (she is best known for her rich lustre-glazed potted vessels) have been gathered for the Craft & Folk Art Museum’s “Intimate Appeal: The Figurative Art of Beatrice Wood,” which opens June 20 and runs through Oct. 28.

The exhibition’s 66 objects on paper and in clay (figurative sculptures, vessels, wall pieces, plates and tiles) represent seven decades of the 97-year-old Ojai artist’s work. The clay sculptures, like folk art, appear to be naive and unschooled but are actually sophisticated in content. The artist’s great sense of humor comes through in the naming of her pieces and in her selection of subject matter; many deal with aspects of male-female romantic relationships.