Past Exhibitions
Excellence in Clay: 25 Years of the Winifred Shantz Award
May 31 to September 14, 2025
Curated by Peter Flannery
with Denis Longchamps & Cheyenne Mapplebeck
For a quarter century, the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics has been celebrating the best of emerging ceramic artists in Canada. This year is no exception, as we recognize the winner and finalists of 2025, as well as each winner in the award’s 25-year history. The only national award for emerging ceramic artists in Canada, the impact of the award is unmatched.
The 2025 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics is presented to Sami Tsang of Toronto, Ontario. Corwyn Lund (Toronto, ON) was selected as the runner-up and the finalists are Etty Anderson (Montréal, QC), Gloria Han (Coquitlam, BC) and Gayle Uyagaqi Kabloona (Ottawa, ON). The award was juried by Susan Collett, Carole Epp, and Sequoia Miller.
Presented annually through an ongoing partnership with The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts, held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation, the winner receives $10,000 to undertake a period of independent research, residency, or other activities that advance their artistic and professional practice. The runner-up receives $5,000, and each finalist is awarded $1,000.
Through works from the Gallery’s Permanent Collection, as well as works loaned from the Art Gallery of Burlington and Gardiner Museum, we celebrate each of the award’s twenty-five incredible winners.
Organisé par Peter Flannery
en collaboration avec Denis Longchamps et Cheyenne Mapplebeck
Depuis maintenant un quart de siècle, le Prix de la céramique Winifred Shantz célèbre les meilleurs artistes de la céramique émergents au Canada. Cette année encore nous reconnaissons les gagnants et finalistes de 2025 mais aussi chaque gagnant des vingt-cinq ans d’histoire du Prix. En tant que seul prix pour les artistes émergents de la céramique à l’échelle nationale au Canada, l’impact de ce Prix ne peut être sous-estimé.
Le Prix de la céramique Winifred Shantz 2025 a été attribué à Sami Tsang de Toronto, Ontario. Corwyn Lund (Toronto, Ont.) s’est vu décerner la seconde place et Etty Anderson (Montréal, Qc), Gloria Han (Coquitlam, C.-B.) et Gayle Uvagaqi Kabloona (Ottawa, Ont.) ont été sélectionnés comme finalistes. Le jury du Prix était composé de Susan Collett, Carole Epp et Sequoia Miller.
Présenté chaque année grâce à un partenariat soutenue avec le Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts sous l’égide de Waterloo Region Community Foundation, le récipiendaire reçoit $10,000 comme soutient pour une période de recherche indépendante, résidence d’artiste ou tout autre activité ayant pour but de développer sa pratique artistique et professionnelle. Le récipiendaire de la seconde place reçoit $5,000 et chaque finaliste reçoit $1,000.
Cette année marquant le 25ème anniversaire du Prix, nous célébrons les 25 extraordinaires gagnants grâce à des œuvres faisant partie de la collection permanente du Musée ainsi qu’à d’autres pièces prêtées par The Art Gallery of Burlington et le Gardiner Museum.
Irene Frolic: A Retrospective
May 24 to September 19, 2025
Curated by Peter Flannery and Denis Longchamps
For 40 years, Irene Frolic has been creating thought – provoking sculptures in glass that engage with her personal history and comment on memory, ageing and healing. In 1948, at the age of seven, she and her parents landed in Halifax, having spent three post war years in a United Nations refugee camp in Austria. Her documents stated she was a “displaced person.” Although the family quickly assimilated, this feeling of “displacement,” perhaps shared by many artists, has fuelled her explorations in art making to this day. Her sculptures convey with glass a rare emotional intensity. The glass becomes the perfect medium, combining its qualities of strength and fragility with the portrayal of emotion, of beauty and pain, of love and healing. Irene has contributed to the development of kiln cast glass as an art form within the international glass studio movement through placement in museum collections, exhibitions, lectures, and with teaching workshops worldwide. With a retrospective exhibition that has long been overdue we now celebrate one of Canada‘s leading sculptors in glass.
Commissaires : Peter Flannery et Denis Longchamps
Depuis plus de 40 ans, Irene Frolic crée des sculptures de verre qui suscitent la réflexion, nous convient à la rencontre de son vécu, et commentent sur la mémoire, vieillir et guérir. En 1948, à l’âge de 7 ans, elle arrive accompagnée de ses parents à Halifax après avoir passé trois ans dans un camp de réfugiés des Nations unis en Autriche. Ses documents stipulent qu’elle est une « personne déplacée. » Bien que la famille se soit rapidement intégrée, ce sentiment de « déplacement », peut-être partagé par de nombreux artistes, a alimenté ses explorations artistiques jusqu’à ce jour. Ses sculptures transmettent par le verre une rare intensité émotionnelle. Le verre devient le matériau idéal, alliant sa force et sa fragilité à la représentation de l’émotion, de la beauté et de la douleur, de l’amour et de la guérison.
Irene a contribué à la croissance du verre thermoformé comme forme d’art dans le cadre du mouvement International Glass Studio par le biais d’expositions, de conférences et d’ateliers à travers le monde. Avec cette exposition rétrospective attendue depuis longtemps, nous célébrons une importante sculpteure du verre du Canada.
JOY+CONNECTION+LOVE
May 31 to September 14, 2025
Lauren Nicole Rice
Guest Curated by Ashlyn Gregory
In her debut solo exhibition, JOY+CONNECTION+LOVE, Lauren Nicole Rice combines vibrant blown glass forms with handmade recycled leather harnesses in celebration of Queer joy. Her dynamic sculptures encourage the audience to explore the work from multiple perspectives, drawing them into a whimsical web that embodies intricate networks of Queer connection and community. Inspired by Queer leather subculture, Rice’s leatherwork is a poignant symbol of visibility and pride. The supple leather, studded with silver grommets and hardware, is juxtaposed against sleek glass sculptures, each reflecting an exploration of form and identity. In some pieces, Rice creates an illusion of the rigid glass bulging against the leather. This playful flip of materiality is emblematic of the way that Rice pushes the limits of the medium, transforming her sculptures from mere vessels to bodies that celebrate and wear Queer culture.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by Pottery Supply House and The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation.
Ashlyn Gregory is the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s 2025 Ann Roberts Curatorial Fellow. Launched in October 2022, the Ann Roberts Curatorial Fund marks Ann’s longstanding commitment to the art and craft of ceramics, glass, and enamel in Canada’s cultural scene. This fund supports an emerging guest curator to organize an exhibition at the Gallery every other year. To make a contribution to the fund, click here.
Dans cette première exposition solo, JOY+CONNECTION+LOVE, Lauren Nicole Rice réunit des formes de verre soufflé de couleurs vives et des harnais faits à la main à partir de cuir recyclé pour célébrer la joie queer. Ses sculptures dynamiques offrent à l’audience l’opportunité de les découvrir sous différentes perspectives et les entraînent dans la toile fantaisiste qu’est le réseau de liens de la communauté Queer. Inspirée par la sous-culture queer du cuir, les travaux de Rice sont un symbole poignant de visibilité et de fierté. Le cuir souple, clouté d’œillets et autres éléments métalliques argentés, est juxtaposé à des formes de verre lisse et aux lignes épurées, ces deux éléments offrant chacun une exploration de la forme et de l’identité. Dans certaines de ses pièces, Rice crée l’illusion que le verre rigide est souple et se déforme tels des bourrelets autour des sangles de cuir. Ce renversement apparent des propriétés des matériaux est emblématique de l’approche de Rice qui repousse les limites des matériaux et permet à ses sculptures de dépasser leur représentation de simple récipient pour prendre celle de corps qui célèbrent, et se revêtent de, la culture queer.
Ashlyn Gregory est la Ann Roberts Curatorial Fellow 2025 du Musée canadien de l’argile & du verre. Lancé en octobre 2022, le Ann Roberts Curatorial Fund marque l’engagement de longue date de Ann Roberts envers les arts et métiers de la poterie, du verre et de l’émail sur la scène culturelle canadienne. Ce fonds supporte le développement de curateurs émergents invités à organiser une exposition au Musée à tous les deux ans. Si vous désirez faire une contribution au fonds, veuillez vous rendre ici
Earthborn 2025
Sabrina Boyer, Looming, 2025. Stoneware, glaze, mother of pearl lustre, gold lustre. Collection of the artist.
July 11 to September 11, 2025
Juror: Thomas Aitken & Kate Hyde
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public.
From Earth to Flame: Indigenous Ceramics and Glass
Nick Sikkuark, Inuit Classic Jar, 1967. Earthenware. The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery Permanent Collection. 1991.001.110.
June 12, 2025 to October, 2025
Located at the WPL – Main Branch
(35 Albert St, Waterloo, ON)
Indigenous ceramics and glassworks carry a deep and vibrant history, reflecting the rich cultural traditions of communities across Canada. The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is honoured to present a selection of contemporary works by Indigenous artists, showcasing their skill and storytelling through clay and glass. This exhibition highlights three distinct groups: Kangirlliniq (Rankin Inlet) ceramics, Talking Earth Pottery, and contemporary, Indigenous glass art.
Each piece in this exhibition presents a story— of heritage, of place, and of artistic excellence. Together, they celebrate the talent and innovation of Indigenous artists working in clay and glass today.
NESTCRAFT
May 13 – June 24, 2025
Featuring the Ceramics of Mara Silver
Curated by Marcel O’Gorman and Jennifer Clary-Lemon of Critical Media Lab
In Western Massachusetts, Mara Silver began hand molding clay nests and installing them for cliff and barn swallows when she discovered that, in the case of cliff swallows, nests were not adhering to buildings and other human-made structures as they used to, and that both species are very attracted to them. Silver monitors the 7 remaining colonies of Cliff Swallows in Massachusetts and supplies nests at 6 of them.
Image of Mara Silver by Amy Toensing.
Image of swallows by David McIntyre.
When humans dispersed across the landscape, they unintentionally benefited Barn Swallows and Cliff Swallows by creating structures such as barns, outbuildings, and bridges, which both species use as nesting sites. In spite of this, today both species are declining across significant portions of their ranges, due to habitat loss but also due to other anthropogenic factors, including climate change, pesticide use, and agricultural intensification.
Mara Silver, with a background in both ceramics and ornithology, has found that in spite of threats to the swallows, colonies can rebound when habitat is improved at the nesting-site level. One tool she uses for habitat restoration is clay nests formed to mimic natural nests. Each nest is handcrafted so no two are alike, and they are “unfinished.” The swallows can choose the one they prefer and finish it to their liking, adding pellets of mud beakful by beakful. By observing the swallows and their artful nests, Mara sought to “collaborate” with them, and thus return to the helpful role humans once played in their nesting.
Curated by Marcel O’Gorman and Jennifer Clary-Lemon of Critical Meda Lab (CML), the exhibition features study skins of swallows from the Royal Ontario Museum, barn timbers from the Waterloo Region, and a time-lapse video of human/swallow nestcraft. This project continues the CML’s commitment to research-creation about more-than-human infrastructure for species at risk.
With special thanks to:
Chris Rogers from Critical Media Lab for Exhibition Assistance and Web Development, Oliver Haddrath and Mark Peck from Royal Ontario Museum for Study Skin Assistance, Evan Gallon from Timeless Materials for Timber Preparation, Amy Toensing, David McIntyre & Tommi Pantti for photography and source video, & Paul Arsenault for Carpentry Assistance.
This project was funded in part by the Social Sciences and Research Council of Canada.
Painting with Clay
January 18 to May 25, 2025
Featuring Carl Beam (1943-2005), Ann Beam (1944-2024), Anong Migwans Beam, Riel Migwans Beam, and Lux Migwans Beam
Curated by Anong Migwans Beam and Elka Weinstein
Online Programs
Anong Migwans Beam in Conversation with Franchesca Hebert-Spence
Click here to watch the full discussion on Youtube.
Anong Migwans Beam in Conversation with Mikinaak Migwans
April 22 from 12-1pm
Click here for more information and to register.
Painting with Clay features ceramic works made by the Beam family from M’Chigeeng First Nation on Manitoulin Island. Carl (1943-2005) and Ann Beam (1944-2024) both had an interest in creating decorative paintings on pottery pieces, partially inspired by Carl’s lifelong search for Anishnaabe pottery. The Beam family’s creative legacy in ceramics continues through Carl and Ann’s daughter, Anong Migwans Beam, and her sons, Riel Migwans Beam, and Lux Migwans Beam. Anong’s lifelong practice of making paint with local natural materials springs from her parents’ practice in making paint and pottery on Manitoulin and in the Southwestern United States.
Painting with Clay walks viewers through three generations of pottery-making, some of which are inspired by the Mimbres and Ancestral Pueblo pottery that Carl and Ann encountered in the Southwest, where the family settled just after Anong was born. Recurring themes in the works are supported by family and archival photos, as well as illustrations from an unpublished children’s book by Ann Beam.
This exhibition is generously supported by:
Peindre avec l’argile nous présente les œuvres de la famille Beam de la Première Nation M’Chigeeng de l’ile Manitoulin. Carl (1943-2005) et Ann Beam (1944-2024) étaient tous deux intéressés par la création de peintures décoratives sur pièces de poterie, s’inspirant en partie de la poterie Anishnaabe que Carl a recherché toute sa vie. Le leg créatif de la famille Beam en céramique se poursuit grâce à la fille de Carl et d’Ann, Anong Migwams Beam ainsi que ses fils, Riel Migwans Beam et Lux Migwans Beam. Anong se consacre à la fabrication de peinture à partir de matériaux naturels se retrouvant dans les sources d’eau locales, s’inspirant du travail de ses parents qui fabriquaient de la peinture et de la poterie sur l’ile Manitoulin et dans le sud-ouest des États-Unis.
Grace à Peindre avec l’argile, le visiteur découvre les œuvres de trois générations d’artistes, certaines étant inspirées de la poterie Mimbres et ancestrales Pueblo auxquelles Carl et Ann ont été exposés pendant leur séjour dans le sud-ouest où la famille s’était installée juste après la naissance d’Anong. Des photos d’archives et familiales ainsi que des illustrations d’un livre inédit pour enfant d’Ann documentent les thématiques récurrentes de leurs œuvres.
Jamie Kroeger, These are the toes I knows that Froze, 2018. Enamel. Collection of the Artist.
In The Outside:
Jamie Kroeger
January 18 to May 25, 2025
With a background in environmental and avalanche science, Jamie Kroeger is an artist who uses the materiality and tactile qualities of enamel to explore complex relationships humans forge with our outdoor environments. Kroeger’s exploration of art jewelry seizes the opportunity to express diverse narrative themes, symbolism, memories associated with equipment and outdoor work, as well as the contradicting dichotomy between art and object. Each object Kroeger presents plays a piece in a larger narrative, constructing both personal and accessible dialogues.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
S’appuyant sur une formation en sciences de l’environnement et des avalanches, l’artiste Jamie Kroeger utilise les qualités physiques et tactiles de l’émail pour examiner la complexité des relations que les humains établissent avec l’environnement extérieur. Par son exploration de la bijouterie d’art, Kroeger saisit l’opportunité d’exprimer diverses thématiques, symbolismes et souvenirs associés à l’équipement et au travail en plein air ainsi que les contradictions, la dichotomie entre l’art et les objets. Chacun des objets présentés par Kroeger s’insère dans un tissu narratif plus grand, créant ainsi des dialogues à la fois personnels et accessibles.
Cette exposition fait partie de la Série des Talents Émergents et bénéficie du support du Musagetes Fund, sous l’égide de la Waterloo Region Community Foundation, ainsi que de la Pottery Supply House.
Fruits: Julie Moon
January 18 to May 18, 2025
Through vessels, florals, and fruits, Julie Moon engages the intersections between ceramics and the natural world. In her most recent body of work, Moon explores munbangdo, or scholar’s study paintings, a style of Korean art first started in the late eighteenth-century. A type of still life, these paintings often depict a range of objects, fruits, and flowers that might be found in a typical study.
Julie Moon adapts this practice to ceramics, creating three-dimensional, decorated, and abstracted forms influenced by the symbolism and meanings of these distinctive works. With histories connected to Qing dynasty duobaoge, (literally, “many treasure shelf”), and auspicious symbolism, Moon delves into lush forms and bold design.
Par la création de ses récipients et représentations de fleurs et de fruits, Julie Moon s’engage dans l’intersection où céramique et monde naturel se rencontrent. Dans ses œuvres récentes, Moon explore le munbangdo, la peinture de livres et d’objets, un style artistique coréen qui est apparu vers la fin du dix-huitième siècle. Cette forme de nature morte représente des objets, fruits et fleurs que l’on pourrait typiquement retrouver dans un bureau.
Julie Moon adapte ce style de peinture à la céramique, créant des formes décorées, abstraites et en trois dimensions, influencées par le symbolisme et signification de ces œuvres. Avec des histoires reliées au duobaoge (qui signifie ‘cabinet de trésor’) de la dynastie Qing et le symbolisme de bon augure, Moon explore les formes luxuriantes et les designs audacieux.
Ceramic Morphologies
Curated by: Isabel Ochoa, James Clarke-Hicks, David Correa
and the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery
January 30 to May 25, 2025
Ceramic Morphologies showcases the creative potential of 3D printing in architectural ceramic design. Featuring works produced through robotic fabrication alongside traditional methods of craft, the exhibition explores new form languages that emerge from the interaction between clay’s fluidity and precision-driven tools.
The exhibition features prototypes designed and fabricated by students at the University of Waterloo School of Architecture. The works on display include a series of ceramic columns designed as formwork for precast concrete elements. Building on experiments with tool path design and material deformation, participants developed their columns by addressing conceptual, functional, and technical considerations, including scalability and constructability.
Ceramic Morphologies invites viewers to reflect on how digital tools and material practices can redefine the landscape of contemporary ceramic building systems.
This work and exhibition has been generously sponsored by the Masonry Council of Ontario.
Participants: Ali Hasan, Alisa Lau, Alison Yu, Angeline Reyes, Areeba Akhtar, Candace Haddy, Cindy He, Derek Shin, Derrick Clouthier, Eva Yang, Gillian Marsh, Jinhong Rioux, Kenyo Jacob Musa, Khadeejah Kazi, Mrsal Rashed, Penn Bolourchi, Selcen Aydar, Snow Jia, Syed Bahroz Ali, Tina Lin, William Guinane
The Gordon Barnes Collection
March 6 to May 12, 2025
Gordon Barnes (1933-2023) was an educator, arts administrator, potter, and philanthropist based in Aurora Ontario. Barnes was an influential figure in 1960s to 1970s ceramics in Canada. He was an instructor at Central Technical School and at Seneca College. He worked with a wide range of organizations throughout his life, including the Ontario Craft Foundation, Canadian Guild of Crafts, and Ceramists Canada. Along with his wife Marie Aiken-Barnes, a textile artist, Gordon Barnes collected ceramics and other artworks by artists from across Canada, as well as the United States and Asia.
In 2020, Barnes made a major gift to the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery which supported its operations through the covid-19 pandemic and allowed for the launch of the Gordon Barnes Gallery to display community exhibitions. In the final years of his life, Gordon also donated artworks to the Gallery for its Permanent Collection and fundraising purposes. Following his death in 2023, a large collection of artworks was donated to the Gallery. This exhibition features a selection of those pieces, demonstrating both the importance of Barnes’ collection, and the impact that a single donor can have on an institution.
Every Piece Tells a Story
Located at the Waterloo Public Library – Main Branch
Sylvia Hyman, Peach Basket #1 with Packages, 1997.
Porcelain, stoneware, glaze, cotton, jute. Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery Permanent Collection. Gift of the Artist, 1998. 1998.019.001.
In the Spring of 2024, the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery invited students from the FR470 course at Wilfrid Laurier University to explore pieces from our Permanent Collection. In turn, these students wrote French fairy tales inspired by a selection of artworks. All of the objects in Every Piece Tells a Story are either directly featured in those tales, or they helped to inspire the visuals, characters, and settings of the stories. This exhibition is a reminder that we can get inspired from all sorts of different places, and that there are stories to be told everywhere that we look.
Copies of these stories are available through the Waterloo Public Library. We hope you stop by and experience the creativity of our local students, and some wonderful pieces from the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery Permanent Collection.
Twelve Collaborations
January 10, 2025 to March 1, 2025
Gary Evans & Timothy Laurin’s Collaboration, 2024. Enamel. Collection of the artist.
In early 2024, Timothy Laurin made the decision to embark on a series of collaborative works with makers from a variety of disciplines. The sole parameter for the project was that each resulting object would incorporate some form of enamel process. After identifying the collaborators, Laurin initiated each partnership by asking for a starting point, whether it be a drawing, a previous piece of work, a writing, or even just a simple concept.
Each project evolved uniquely, shaped by the individual creative process of the collaborator. The development of the works involved studio visits, conversations, and numerous exchanges of emails, all contributing to the evolution of the pieces. Throughout this endeavor, Laurin was compelled to explore new techniques and push his own aesthetic boundaries. His comfort zone was often stretched, which became an unexpected benefit of the experience.
Laurin is excited to present the twelve collaborative works and extends his gratitude to the talented makers who participated in this creative journey.
A Living Palette
Heather McCaig, Wild Rose Alberta, 2022. Flameworked borosilicate glass & black sand. 20cm x 14cm x 38cm. Collection of the artist.
September 21, 2024 to January 12, 2025
Curated by Denis Longchamps & Cheyenne Mapplebeck
A Living Palette presents the work of five artists taking inspiration from nature, biology and the environment. Judy Blake (Lincoln, New Brunswick), Jess Riva Cooper (Toronto, Ontario), Heather McCaig (Sussex, New Brunswick), Darlene Pratt (London, Ontario) and Alejandra Vera (Toronto, Ontario) each invite us into the world of the environment, natural organisms and their sources of life. Sometimes beautiful, sometimes irreverent — at times thought provoking, at others more reflective — this exhibition tackles issues of global warming, feminism, the male gaze, resistance and survival while pushing the boundaries of ceramic and glass techniques.
While some of the subject matter may be difficult to digest, A Living Palette encourages the viewer to reflect on their connection with the living world. There are reminders of our significance in terms of our relationship with the Earth, and of our insignificance in the grand scheme of the greater universe. Above all else, this exhibition urges viewers to reconnect with their own place in nature, and recognize the simultaneous beauty and sublime elements of our environments.
Commissaires: Denis Longchamps & Cheyenne Mapplebeck
Une palette vivante nous présente les œuvres de cinq artistes qui s’inspirent de la nature, de la biologie et de l’environnement. Judy Blake (Lincoln, Nouveau-Brunswick), Jess Riva Cooper (Toronto, Ontario), Heather McCaig (Sussex, Nouveau-Brunswick), Darlene Pratt (London, Ontario) et Alejandra Vera (Toronto, Ontario) nous invitent dans le monde de l’environnement, des organismes naturels et de leurs sources de vie. Parfois belle, parfois irrévérencieuse et parfois nous invitant à la réflexion ou encore à l’introspection, cette exposition aborde les problèmes et enjeux associés au réchauffement climatique, au féminisme, au regard masculin, à la résistance et à la survie tout en repoussant les limites techniques de la céramique et du verre.
Bien que les spectateurs pourraient trouver inconfortables certains des sujets qui y sont abordés, Une palette vivante les invite et les encourage à réfléchir sur leur connexion avec le monde vivant. Elle leur rappelle leur importance dans le contexte de leur relation avec la Terre mais elle leur rappelle aussi que cette importance devient insignifiante lorsque considérée à l’échelle de l’Univers. D’abord et avant tout, l’exposition exhorte les spectateurs à retrouver leur propre place dans la nature et à reconnaitre la présence simultanée de beauté et d’éléments sublimes dans notre environnement.
Impertinent Abstractions
September 28, 2024 to January 5, 2025
Laurent Craste
Laurent Craste, Étude pour une Abstraction morte, 2023. Porcelain, glaze, bisque fired blue porcelain, nail. 28.3 x 13 x 8.8 cm. Collection of the artist.
With Impertinent Abstractions, Laurent Craste introduces a new body of work, the results of 10-month formal and technical explorations. The ceramic artist worked with clusters of two or three sculptures at a time, moving away from the classical forms that characterized his previous work. However, there is a continuity in his approach to the process of violent aggression towards his creations of glazed or coloured porcelain. Abstract forms are singularly impaled, stabbed with a knife, struck , tied with a rope, or pierced with darts.
Avec Abstractions impertinentes, Laurent Craste propose un tout nouveau corpus, résultat de 10 mois d’explorations formelle et technique. L’artiste céramiste a travaillé en grappes de deux ou trois sculptures à la fois, en s’éloignant des formes classiques qui caractérisent ses corpus précédents. Cependant, une continuité est présente dans sa démarche, dans le processus d’agression violente que subissent ses créations de porcelaine émaillée ou colorée, formes abstraites singulièrement empalées ou poignardées, frappées ou attachées avec une corde, ou encore percées de dards.
Tsïtsïki: Mariana Bolaños Inclán
September 28, 2024 to January 12, 2025
Curated by Peter Flannery
The Tree of Life is a traditional artistic form practiced for many centuries in Mexico. Typically made from terra cotta, these sculptures would take the form of a tree decorated with key figures and symbols in Indigenous cultures, the Bible, and now contemporary themes. Mariana Bolaños Inclán is a Mexican ceramic artist based in Toronto. Her work engages with themes of migration, social justice, and gender through the lenses of the natural environment and cycles of life and death.
Tsïtsïki means “flower” in Purépecha, the Indigenous language of the region of Mexico where Bolaños Inclán spent the early years of her life. For this exhibition, she connects her works related to Indigenous Mexican teachings, life and death, and the relationships between flowers and all living things. It is through these symbols that Bolaños Inclán share the stories of her past and her identity.
L’Arbre de vie est une forme artistique du Mexique dont la tradition remonte à plusieurs centaines d’années. Le plus souvent fabriquées de terre cuite, ces sculptures ont la forme d’un arbre décoré de personnages emblématiques et de symboles de la culture autochtone et de la Bible et, plus récemment, de représentations de sujets contemporains. Mariana Bolaños Inclán est une artiste céramiste du Mexique établie à Toronto. Ses œuvres explorent les thèmes de la migration, de la justice sociale et du genre, vus à travers des représentions du milieu naturel et des cycles de la vie et de la mort.
Tsïtsïki signifie «fleur» en Purépecha, la langue autochtone de la région du Mexique où Bolaños a passé les premières années de sa vie. Pour cette exposition, l’artiste associe ses œuvres sur les enseignements autochtones du Mexique, sur la vie et sur la mort aux liens qui existent entre les fleurs et tous les êtres vivants. C’est à travers ces symboles que Bolaños Inclán partage avec nous son passé et son identité.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
Breakthrough PLUS
September 10, 2024 to January 5, 2025
An exhibition by FUSION, Juried by Suzanne Carte and Peter Flannery
Hannah Faas, Fence Sitter.
“As FUSION celebrates 50 years in 2024, we invited members at all career stages to submit work that reflects memory and the connection between art and personal recollections. The exhibition will offer a thought-provoking exploration of the power of memory and its influence on artistic expression.”
Featuring:
Annika Hoefs, Barbara Banfield, Bram Locknick, Carolynn Bloomer, Charlie Larouche-Potvin, Cory-Lynn Styles, Cynthia O’Brien, Debra Sloan, Eekta Trienekens, Evan Ting Kwok Leung, Geordie Shepherd, Hannah Faas, Heidi McKenzie, Jane Garcia, Jocelyn Jenkins, Jonah Strub, Karen Franzen, Keenan O’Toole, Layne Verbeek, Leslie Putnam, Lisa Gwen Robbins, Maja Padrov, Marita Manson, Nikola Wojewoda, Peidi Wang, Queenie Xu, Sandra Ledingham, Shayne Berlin, Silvia Tagusagawa, Sydni Weatherson, Vanesa Trillia, Wei Cheng and Zara Gardener.
Form and Reform: Bruce Cochrane
May 25 to September 8, 2024
Guest Curated by Jonathan Smith
Bruce Cochrane is an internationally known and respected ceramic artist with more than 50 years in the field. In the last decade, he has forged ahead in an increasingly complex direction. Recognized as a gifted potter with a superb technical background, he has taken the traditional wheel work of his youth and has pushed and pulled, cut and sliced his forms. These large-scale dynamic pieces are often now more in line with contemporary architecture. While still in touch with its functional predecessors, his work has turned the common vessel into an exploration that unites ceramics, architecture, and sculpture into a cohesive whole.
Patterns that Bind Us: Priscilla Kar Yee Lo
May 25 to September 8, 2024
Curated by Peter Flannery
Drawn to glass following a career in health care, Priscilla Kar Yee Lo was enamoured by the paradoxical qualities of this medium. Fragile yet strong, ephemeral yet permanent, glass mimics the constraints that have been placed on women of colour for centuries. Growing up in a Chinese immigrant family in Canada, Lo experienced firsthand the patriarchal standards and controlling images enforced upon Asian women. Through her work, she aims to use recognizable symbols like Hello Kitty and Chinoiserie to illustrate the ways in which women of colour have been, and continue to be, controlled by dominant societal standards.
As Priscilla Kar Yee Lo shows us, pop culture icons like Hello Kitty may be more than just playful images and toys for children. By subtly infusing them with her own twists and creative uses of glass, these internationally recognizable images reveal her acts of defiance.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
Earthborn 2024
July 5 to September 4, 2024
Juror: Susan Day
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public.
This year’s winners:
Craft Ontario Design Award – Octopus by Rosemary Aicher
Tuckers Award of Merit – Vase by Stephen Hawes
PSH Primitive Firing Award – Fern Vase by Judy Donaldson
PSH Handbuilt Award – Wrought by Sally Harangozo
WPW (Waterloo Potters’ Workshop) Novice Award – Introvert by Richard Liu
PSH Open Category Award – Doodle Bowl by Maddie Gabriel
Dorothy Tutten Best Functional Award – Simple Pleasures, Tea for Two by Najma Haque
FUSION Design Award – The Heartbeat of Lahaina by Moulshree Opal
Featured Artists:
Rosemary Aicher, Anne Beyers, Janette Bogart, Helen Beimers/Templeton, Sabrina Boyer, Wanda Densmore, Judy Donaldson, Anke Dirks-Wehrmann, Maddie Gabriel, Najma Haque, Sally Harangozo, Stephen Hawes, Hette Hillsdon, Calvin Kellendonk, Richard Liu, June Macdonald, Dana Marr, Angela McKay, Marlen Moggach, Moulshree Opal, Stewart Smith, Connie Straicher, Barbara Tomas, Eekta Trienekens, Cynthia Trombley, Mieke Zawada.
Emergence 2024
June 1 to September 1, 2024
Emergence celebrates the winners and finalists of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists. Demonstrating the talent, passion, and vision of these artists, this exhibition showcases the best of the next generation of ceramics and glass artists in Canada.
In recognition of the work of promising young ceramic artists, the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics is presented this year to Lael Chmelyk of Calgary, Alberta. Benjamin Oswald (Edmonton, AB) was selected as the runner-up and the finalists are Nichol Marsch (Stonewall, MB), Alejandra Vera (Markham, ON), Sami Tsang (Toronto, ON), and Tomo Ingalls (Surrey, BC).
The RBC Award for Glass celebrates the outstanding work of emerging glass artists in a variety of mediums including blown, fused, and stained glass. This year, the RBC Award for Glass is presented to Charlie Larouche-Potvin of Montréal, Quebec. The exhibition also includes runner-up Jérémie St-Onge (Montréal, QC), and finalists Dorothée Bouliane (Montréal, QC), Gordon Boyd (Oakville, ON), and Leia Shijie Guo (Calgary, AB).
The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics and RBC Award for Glass are presented annually by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery with the support of The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and RBC Emerging Artists, respectively. The only national awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists in Canada, these prestigious prizes provide each winner $10,000 to undertake a period of independent research and other activities that advance their artistic and professional practice. Each runner-up receives $5,000 and finalists receive a prize of $1,000 each. The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics was juried by Marissa Y Alexander, Carole Epp, and Judith Schwartz. The RBC Award for Glass was juried by Susan Edgerley, Tyler Rock, and Aaron Schey.
Fallen Angels: Jane Garcia
April 12, 2024 to July 1, 2024
Jane Garcia, Sol, 2022. White clay, enamels, metallic wax. 6.25 x 6.175 x 6.5”. Collection of the Artist.
Fallen Angels: Jane Garcia examines the deeply human qualities of resilience through figurative, sculptural works. Hand built without armatures, each sculpture is of a unique figure tragically caught in moments of failure, grief, pain, or loss. Inspired both by Garcia’s own memories, as well as universal experiences of persistence, Fallen Angels is a compassionate exploration of strength alongside moments of harsh reality.
On display in the Gordon Barnes Community Gallery.
Resonance
February 3 to May 12, 2024
Lisa Creskey, Susan Day & Eddy Firmin
In our increasingly connected world, we are faced with –and respond to— diverse issues in our communities and abroad. Through social media and online news, these social concerns are also becoming increasingly visual as we are confronted by digital images of injustice, suffering, oppression, climate change, and more. Through all of this however, the adage that “art is political” remains as true today, and possibly even more so now than it ever was. In the community and creation of artworks, new stories, ideas, and emotions emerge. These are elements that connect, educate, and unite us.
Resonance features the work of Lisa Creskey, Susan Day, and Eddy Firmin, three artists engaging with ceramics in unique ways that connect us to social issues. From the threat of ecosystem collapse in the age of the Anthropocene, to community-based arts and disability, to systemic racism and the lasting implications of slavery, we are drawn to connect with these growing crises. Each using ceramics and mixed media in different ways, the artists engage in activism through their work as the act of creation and sharing affects each one of us. While they may not present solutions to these issues, the tangible and emotive qualities of their works resonate within us. They connect us more personally to the diverse individuals and experiences around us, and in doing so encourage new bonds and innovative ways of thinking.
Lisa Creskey, Susan Day & Eddy Firmin
Dans notre monde de plus en plus interconnecté, nous sommes confrontés et réagissons aux enjeux des communautés d’ici et d’ailleurs. Ces préoccupations sociales prennent désormais une forme visuelle par le biais des réseaux sociaux et bulletins de nouvelles en ligne où nous sommes bombardés d’images numériques d’injustices, de souffrance, d’oppression, des changements climatiques et autres sujets préoccupants. Dans ce contexte, l’adage selon lequel « l’art est politique » demeure aussi vrai aujourd’hui, sinon plus, qu’il ne l’a jamais été. Dans la communauté artistique et dans la création des œuvres d’art on voit donc émerger de nouvelles histoires, idées et émotions qui deviennent des éléments qui nous relient, nous éduquent et nous unissent.
Résonance nous présente les œuvres de Lisa Creskey, Susan Day et Eddy Firmin, trois artistes qui créent des céramiques uniques par leur façon de nous connecter aux enjeux de société. Du risque d’effondrement des écosystèmes dans l’âge Anthropocène, à l’art communautaire et l’invalidité, du racisme systématique à l’impact persistant de l’esclavage, nous sommes appelés, grâce à leur travail, à considérer ces crises grandissantes. Bien qu’ayant chacun une approche individuelle de la céramique et des techniques mixtes, ces artistes se font tous activistes par le biais de leurs œuvres, l’acte de création et de partage nous touchants tous et chacun. On ne retrouve peut-être pas de solutions dans ces créations mais on ressent leur qualité émotive palpable et nous permettent d’avoir une connexion plus personnelle avec les personnes et expériences diverses qui nous entourent. Ce faisant, elles encouragent la formation de nouveaux liens et de nouvelles façons de penser, et de considérer les choses.
Visitors are invited to participate in Eddy Firmin’s Confessional, a participatory artwork on display in Resonance. For more information about how you can be involved, read our press release.
Resonance is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation.
Fay Rooke, Enamellist
January 27 to May 12, 2024
Fay Rooke
Fay Rooke is a respected, award-winning artist in vitreous enamel with more than 55 years of experience. This includes creating work, teaching, and exhibiting locally, nationally, and internationally. Still today, she goes to her studio almost daily and continues to create stunning work in vitreous enamel using copper, silver, and gold. She has thirteen solo exhibitions from throughout her career and has participated in many group exhibitions including more than twenty international ones in places such as the United States; Tokyo, Japan; Coburg, Germany; Limoges, France; and Barcelona, Spain. She was the guest artist at the Korea Enamel Artist Association exhibition, presented in Seoul in 2000. In 1993, she presented Enamel Contemplations at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery as part of our inaugural events. We are thrilled to present Fay Rooke, Enamellist now as part of our concluding 30th anniversary celebration.
Fay Rooke est une artiste de l’émail vitrifié, respectée et primée, avec plus de 55 ans d’expérience de création, d’enseignement et d’exposition au niveau local, national et international. Encore aujourd’hui, elle se rend à son studio presque quotidiennement pour créer de magnifiques œuvres d’émail vitritrifié à partir de cuivre, argent et d’or. Fay a à son crédit treize expositions solo et de nombreuses expositions collectives, dont plus de vingt à l’international, incluant aux Etats-Unis; Tokyo, Japan; Coburg, Germany; Limoges, France et Barcelone, Espagne. Elle a été artiste invitée à l’exposition de la ‘Korea Enamel Artist Association’, tenue à Séoul en 2000. En 1993, elle a présenté Enamel Contemplations au Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre à l’occasion de notre évènement inaugural. Nous sommes particulièrement fiers de vous présenter Fay Rooke, Émailleure, dans le cadre des célébrations de clôture de notre 30e anniversaire.
Latent Space: Kaley Flowers
February 3 to May 12, 2024
Kaley Flowers is an emerging ceramic artist whose work draws from the natural environment, as well as technology, the internet, and virtual spaces. As artificial intelligence (AI) becomes increasingly prevalent in our world, we are confronted by the benefits and repercussions these advancements might provide. Recently, artists have raised concerns about AI and the ways in which it uses artworks without payment or credit in its learning process to produce new imagery. Despite this, there are also new and unique ways in which AI can be harnessed by artists in explorations of the visual realm.
In Latent Space, Flowers has created a series of three ceramic pieces, each blending technology and natural forms. Using photography, images of these artworks were then input into an AI model to generate new variations. Selecting one of these new images, Flowers then created it in ceramic, before photographing it and inputting it back into the AI model to begin the cycle of AI generation again. Through nine iterations of each of the original three artworks, Flowers worked in collaboration with the artificial intelligence, creating a feedback loop that resulted in thirty unique pieces.
Through Latent Space, Kaley Flowers questions the products of this experimental relationship between human and technology, and the ways in which it supports and hinders her practice. She urges us to consider the innovations that are possible for traditional craft practices, and the technological and ethical implications of human and machine interactions.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
Kaley Flowers est une céramiste émergente qui crée des œuvres inspirées par le milieu naturel ainsi que par la technologie, l’internet et les espaces virtuels. Avec la montée de l’intelligence artificielle (IA) dans notre monde, on se questionne sur les bénéfices et répercussions potentielles de cette technologie. Les artistes ont récemment commencé à exprimer des craintes par rapport à l’IA et à l’utilisation d’œuvres d’arts dans le processus d’apprentissage de l’IA pour générer de nouvelles images, et ce, sans rémunération et sans créditer les artistes. Malgré tout, l’IA offre aux artistes de nouvelles et uniques approches pour explorer le monde visuel.
Pour nous présenter Espace latent, Flowers a d’abord créé une série de trois céramiques en mariant technologies et formes du milieu naturel. Des images photographiques de ces œuvres ont été saisies dans un model d’IA pour générer de nouvelles variations. Flowers a ensuite sélectionné une des variations et l’a recréée en céramique pour ensuite répéter le cycle d’IA. En reproduisant ce processus neuf fois pour chacune des trois œuvres initiales, l’artiste a, de fait, collaboré avec l’IA pour produire une boucle de rétroaction qui a généré trente pièces uniques.
Par le biais d’Espace latent, Kaley Flowers explore les résultats de cette relation expérimentale entre l’humain et la technologie et les façons dont cette relation supporte ou interfère avec sa pratique artistique. Flowers nous invite ainsi à considérer les possibilités offertes par les pratiques artisanales traditionnelles ainsi que les implications technologiques et éthiques des interactions entre l’humain et la machine.
Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Façade Systems
February 3 to April 7, 2024
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa
University of Waterloo Architecture students test how building facades of the future can be 3D printed with clay. Inspired by nature, ancient architectural traditions and new technology, the students develop new methods and processes that re-envision the clay masonry unit.
Working with a state-of-the-art large-volume clay extrusion 3D printer, Assistant Professor David Correa’s students set out to explore how this highly used building material can be re-envisioned for the future. This fabrication tool allows for an unprecedented level of design freedom when compared with conventional brick-making methods, while still engaging the material properties and characteristics of traditional clay.
The exhibition includes multiple undergraduate and graduate student projects that test the new architectural qualities of 3D printed facades, where each clay brick can be unique. The projects include a wide range of playful wall systems, ornamental and light-modulating cladding systems, as well as rainscreen and solar-shading facades.
Participants: [ Hanna Jaglarz, Anne Clock, Spehr Fathi], [Phillis Yang, Leanne Li, Matthew Baker], [Kenneth Siu, Nadia Cheng, Silas Clusiau], [Khyati Danak, Aasha Shah, Hannah Wonnacott], [Claire de Jeu, Ho Park Yeung, Thea Taylor], [Sarah Abdulkarim, Audrey Chen, Azana Saunders], [Jake Farquharson, Jan Hendrikse, Meghan Engelen], [Jiadi Dai, Edward Wu, Calving Liang], [Yoon Hur, Janson Neal, Simon Peiris], [Kinna Mistry, Juan Juan Yin, Laurie Zeng], [Taylor Murray, Yannik Sigouin, Mariem Saad].
Special thanks to: Andrew Payne, Conroy Murray, Heinz Koller, Michael Syms, Jessica Steinhausser, Isabel Ochoa, James Clarke-Hicks, and Denis Longchamps.
Bricks kindly sponsored by Canada Brick.
This exhibition is made possible by Masonry Council of Ontario in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, and The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
From the Archives
November 25, 2023 to January 28, 2024
Guest Curated by Alex Cardy
From the Archives features materials from Ruth Gowdy McKinley, Gail Crawford, The Five Potters, and Ann Mortimer. These pictures, documents, and tools demonstrate the vital importance of archival materials in understanding the history of ceramic, glass, and vitreous enamel art in Canada. When one views a piece of art on display at a Gallery the work is presented in an ideal state, sometimes obscuring the labor that went into creating the object and the various material circumstances that shape the production of all art. By exhibiting archival materials alongside pieces from the Gallery’s collection, we can shed light on how material circumstances have shaped the production of ceramic, glass, and enamel art in Canada.
Monumental
September 16, 2023 to January 14, 2024
A gold lustre cup, glass orbs, and a pair of rabbits embracing on a boat. These works are among the hundreds held in the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s Permanent Collection. Each one is unique, meaningful, and tied not only to the life and legacy of its maker, but also inherently connect ed to this institution and the people and events that have made it grow and change for thirty years.
Monumental shares a selection of works from the Gallery’s permanent collection, as well as two borrowed works important to the history of the institution. These works speak to the role of ceramics, glass, and vitreous enamel in Canada, and to the strength of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery as the only institution dedicated to contemporary Canadian art in these mediums. Our success was not always guaranteed, but through the dedication and tireless work of countless individuals, the Gallery persevered and continued to rise to new heights.
Featured in this exhibition are the people, memories, and stories that have made this institution—as well as the seeds for the future. These are the legacy that lives on in the Gallery and each of these works, and the potential that they hold for the next generation of artists and makers.
Une tasse dorée, des sphères de verre et deux lapins enlacés dans un bateau. Ces œuvres font parties des centaines qui figurent dans la collection permanente du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre. Chacune est unique, significative et est non seulement reliée au vécu et à l’héritage de leur créateur mais, aussi, est étroitement rattachée au Musée, ainsi qu’aux gens et évènements qui ont contribués à sa croissance et changements au cours des trente dernières années.
Monumental présente une sélection d’œuvres de la collection permanente du Musée ainsi que deux œuvres prêtées qui occupent une place importante dans l’histoire de l’institution. Ces œuvres illustrent bien le rôle de la céramique, du verre et de l’émail vitreux au Canada ainsi que la force du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre en tant que la seule institution dédiée à l’art contemporain canadien dans ces mediums.
Au cœur de cette exposition figurent les gens, les souvenirs et les histoires à qui on doit la création de l’institution et qui représentent aussi les semences pour son futur. Cet héritage demeure bien vivant au sein du Musée et des œuvres présentées et offre une source d’inspiration pour les générations futures d’artistes et d’artisans.
Monumental is generously supported by The Pioneer Group Inc. and the Hogarth Family Foundation Fund at the Hamilton Community Foundation.
A catalogue of this exhibition is available in the Gallery Shop or Shop Online.
Featured Artists:
Dick Averns, Baccarat, Gordon Barnes, Scott Barnim, Carl Beam, Brent Bukowski, Mimi Cabri, Emily Carr, Keith Campbell, Judy Chicago, Dale Chihuly, Priscilla Cranley, Don Deitcher, Angelo Di Petta, Laura Donefer, Jennifer Elion, Ercole Moretti Studio, Joe Fafard, Gathie Falk, Leopold Foulem, Irene Frolic, James Gillespie, Harlan House, Robin Hopper, Joseph Hubbard, Sadashi Inuzuka, Tam Irving, David James, Edouard Jasmin, Taliaferro Jones, Timothy Laurin, Max Leser, Marilyn Levine, Sarah Link, Susan Low-Beer, Steven Lundberg, Jordan Maclachlan, Paul Mathieu, Claire Maunsell, Tom McGlauchlin, Richard Milette, Julie Moon, Ann Mortimer, Diane Nasr-O’Young, Kayo O’Young, Gregory Payce, Arthur Alan Perkins, Perthshire Glass, Carole Pilon, Ann Roberts, Yvo Samgushak, Karl Schantz, Winifred Shantz, Michael Sheba, Bruce Sillars, Steve Smith, Leigh Smith, Tom Smith, Judy Springer, Jiri Suhajek, Jack Sures, David Thai, Tony Urquhart, Vera Vicente, Frantisek Vizner, Tim Whiten, Garry Williams, Virginia Wilson Toccalino, Beatrice Wood
Shifting Bodies
September 16, 2023 to January 14, 2024
Guest Curated by Reilly Knowles
As the latest artist featured in the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery’s Emerging Talent Series, Julian Miholics presents a contemplation on change and queerness. By intermingling human bodies with those of animals and monsters of legend, Miholics challenges the human/nonhuman divide and lovingly embraces the spectre of animalization haunting trans and Queer bodies. He depicts beings moving through physical and mental change, celebrating difference, and healing from hardships as reflections on the push and pull of gender dysphoria and euphoria, as well as ostracization and acceptance. Through the medium of clay, Miholics honours the love and perseverance of the Queer community with the intent of bestowing documents of Queer life to his kindred both living and yet to be.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
Reilly Knowles is the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s inaugural Ann Roberts Curatorial Fellow. Launched in October 2022, the Ann Roberts Curatorial Fund marks Ann’s longstanding commitment to the art and craft of ceramics, glass, and enamel in Canada’s cultural scene. This fund will be used to invite an emerging guest curator to organize an exhibition at the Gallery every other year. To make a contribution to the fund, click here.
En tant que le plus récent artiste mis en vedette dans le cadre de la série Nouveaux Talents du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre, Julian Miholics nous présente une réflexion sur le changement et la réalité queer. C’est en entremêlant des corps humains avec ceux d’animaux et de monstres mythiques que Miholics remet en question la division entre l’humain/le non-humain et inclus avec tendresse le spectre de l’animalisation qui hante les corps trans et queer. Il représente des êtres traversant des changements physiques et psychiques, célébrant la différence et guérissant des épreuves, pour inspirer des réflexions sur le tiraillement entre la dysphorie du genre et l’euphorie, ainsi qu’entre l’ostracisme et l’acceptation. C’est par le biais de l’argile que Miholics rend honneur à l’amour et à la persévérance de la communauté Queer, avec pour but d’offrir un témoignage de la vie Queer à ses proches, vivants et en devenir.
Cette exposition fait partie de la série Nouveaux Talents et bénéficie du généreux support du The Musagetes Fund, sous l’égide du Waterloo Region Community Foundation, et de The Pottery Supply House.
Reilly Knowles est le premier Commissaire invité Ann Roberts du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre. Inauguré en octobre 2022, le Fond de commissariat Ann Roberts marque l’engagement de longue date de Ann envers l’art et l’artisanat de la céramique, du verre et de l’émail dans la scène culturelle canadienne. Ce fond servira à inviter, à tous les deux ans, un commissaire d’exposition émergent pour organiser une exposition au Musée. Pour contribuer à ce fond, veuillez consulter notre site internet.
Beyond the Bead
September 23, 2023 to January 7, 2024
Barry Ace & Sharl G. Smith
Stitch by stitch, bead by bead; patterns, connections, and stories come to life. For tens of thousands of years, people from cultures around the world have used beadwork as trade items, decoration, spiritual objects, and political and cultural signifiers. First through natural materials, and later glass and metals, beaded goods have remained an important part of our visual and material culture. Contemporary beadwork continues this trajectory; holding space for history while exploring new and innovative approaches to art and decoration.
Beyond the Bead features the work of Barry Ace and Sharl G. Smith, two contemporary Canadian artists whose practices push one of the oldest forms of cultural art to new and engaging realms. Through contemporary materials and a respect for the diverse cultural significance of this practice, each artist demonstrates the continued importance of this medium. Exploring issues of identity, femininity, the environment, and the value of beaded craft as an artform, the works in this exhibition unleash the full potential of this medium. Ace’s inclusion of electronic e-waste in his beaded works transforms and recontextualizes historic Anishinaabeg material culture in response to the digital age. In Smith’s work, architecture, sculpture, and beading are combined in a technique called bead-stitching—both in intricate small-scale pieces and massive beaded works composed of mirror-finished stainless-steel and hand-made glass.
In the first exhibition of beadwork to be presented at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Barry Ace and Sharl G. Smith combine the medium of glass, contemporary technology, and a technique connected to thousands of years of cultural tradition. Diverse in their approaches to this medium and the stories that they tell, they are united by their efforts to honour a culture passed down through generations and to push beadwork to new realms.
Point par point, perle par perle, les motifs, les liens et les histoires prennent vie. Les ouvrages de perles sont utilisés depuis des dizaines de milliers d’années comme objets d’échange, de décorations ou spirituel, ou encore comme indicateur politique et culturel, et ce par les peuples et cultures du monde entier. A l’origine conçus de matériaux naturels et ensuite de verre et de métal, les objets perlés sont depuis toujours un élément important de notre culture visuelle et matérielle. Les ouvrages de perles contemporains continus sur cette trajectoire; ils explorent la nouveauté et les innovations dans les arts et la décoration, tout en réservant une place à l’histoire.
Au-delà de la perle nous présente les œuvres de Barry Ace et de Sharl G. Smith, deux artistes canadiens contemporains dont les approches amènent une des plus vieilles formes d’art culturel vers de nouvelles et engageantes sphères de créativité. En combinant matériaux contemporains et respect des diverses significations culturelles de cette pratique, chaque artiste nous démontre que ce medium demeure important. Les œuvres de cette exposition explorent les concepts d’identité et de féminité, l‘environnement et le perlage d’objets comme forme d’art, et, ce faisant, elles libèrent le plein potentiel de ce medium. En incluant des déchets électroniques dans ses ouvrages, Ace transforme et actualise la culture matérielle historique Anishinaabeg pour y refléter l’âge du numérique. De son coté, Smith utilise la technique de tissage de perles à l’aiguille pour marier l’architecture, la sculpture et le perlage dans des œuvres complexes à petite échelle ainsi que dans des ouvrages de dimension imposante composés d’acier fini miroir et de verre fait à la main
Dans cette première exposition d’objets perlés à être présentée par le Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre, Barry Ace et Sharl G. Smith combinent le verre et les technologies contemporaines à une technique soutenue par des millénaires de traditions culturelles. Bien que ces artistes se différencient par leur approche du medium et les histoires qu’ils nous racontent, ils se rejoignent dans leurs efforts pour rendre hommage à une culture transmise de génération en génération tout en repoussant les frontières artistiques pour les ouvrages de perles.
Depictions of the Human Figure
Guest Curated by Alexander Roger
September 23 to November 19, 2023
Depictions of the Human Figure explores the different possibilities when depicting humans as a subject matter for art. This exhibition looks at a wide array of varied artworks and the genres they are rooted in. See how artists can use the same subject matter of human bodies and depict them in numerous and unique ways.
Community Perspectives is a project by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery that invites members of diverse communities to share their interests and experiences through an exhibition comprised of works selected from the permanent collection housed in the Gallery’s vault. For over 30 years, the Gallery has collected works in clay, glass, and vitreous enamel; many have been donated and some have been purchased with funds secured through grants.
Emergence 2023
May 20 to September 17, 2023
Emergence celebrates the winners and finalists of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists.
In recognition of the work of promising young ceramic artists, the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics is presented this year to Amy Duval of Medicine Hat, Alberta. Also featured in the exhibition are award finalists François Grenier (Chatham, ON), and Brianne Siu (Burnaby, BC).
The RBC Award for Glass recognizes the outstanding work of emerging glass artists. This year, the RBC Award for Glass is presented to Jeanne Létourneau of Montréal, Quebec. The exhibition also includes runner-up Charlie Larouche-Potvin (Montréal, QC), and finalist Nadira Narine (Toronto, ON).
The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics and RBC Award for Glass are presented annually by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery with the support of The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and RBC Emerging Artists, respectively. The only national awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists in Canada, these prestigious prizes provide $10,000 to an artist in each medium to undertake a period of independent research and other activities that advance their artistic and professional practice. The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics was juried by Elaine Cheasley Paterson, Robin Dupont, and Roswitha Wulff. The RBC Award for Glass was juried by Susan Edgerley, Jessamy Kelly, and Julia Reimer.
L’exposition Émergence célèbre les gagnants et finalistes des prix du Musée Canadien de la Céramique et du Verre pour artistes émergents dans le domaine de la céramique et du verre.
Le Prix de la Céramique Winifred Shantz pour jeunes artistes est attribué cette année à Amy Duval de Medicine Hat, Alberta. Les finalistes du prix, Francois Grenier (Chatham, ON) et Brianne Siu (Burnaby, CB), sont également représentés dans l’exposition.
Le Prix du Verre RBC, qui récompense les œuvres exceptionnelles des artistes émergents du verre, a été décerné cette année à Jeanne Létourneau de Montréal, Québec. Charlie Larouche-Potvin (Montréal, QC), seconde place, et Nadira Narine, finaliste, font aussi partie de l’exposition.
C’est grâce au soutien de la Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts de la Waterloo Region Community Foundation ainsi que de celui du project Artistes Emergents RBC que le Musée Canadien de la Céramique et du Verre peut présenter, chaque année, le Prix de la Céramique Winifred Shantz et le Prix du Verre RBC, respectivement. Ces prix d’excellences prestigieux sont les seuls au niveau national qui récompensent les artistes émergents dans les domaines de la céramique et du verre. D’une valeur de $10,000 chacun, ils permettent à un artiste dans chaque domaine d’entreprendre, indépendamment, une période d’exploration et autres activités pour parfaire leur pratique artistique et professionnelle. Le jury du Prix de la Céramique Winifred Shantz était composé d’ Elaine Cheasley Paterson, Robin Dupont, et de Roswitha Wulff et celui du Prix du Verre RBC, de Susan Edgerley, Jessamy Kelly, et Julia Reimer.
Robotic Clay: New Methods in Architectural Ceramics
Generously supported by:
Nancy and Bill Schwarz
June 3 to September 10, 2023
Guest Curated by David Correa, Isabel Ochoa & James Clarke-Hicks
Making objects with clay is a craft that is nurtured through small incremental innovations, each leaving its own trace in the clay body. This exhibition challenges the audience to understand this continuum in the context of technological advances in manufacturing brought about by the digital revolution. The exhibition brings together academic institutions from across North America to showcase novel 3D printed architectural ceramics. Combining traditional ceramic craft and robotic fabrication, the exhibition explores how attuning emergent technologies to the unique properties of clay can create new form and spatial languages. These formal and spatial explorations are displayed through a series of ceramic 3D printed walls and functional ceramic components at multiple scales.
This exhibition is made possible by the Masonry Council of Ontario and Nancy and Bill Schwarz in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo, and The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
La fabrication d’objets en argile est un métier qui se nourrit de l’accumulation progressive de petites innovations, chacune laissant sa marque. Cette exposition met l’audience au défi de discerner ce continuum dans le contexte des innovations technologiques industrielles, issues de la révolution du numérique. L’exposition rassemble des institutions académiques nord-américaines pour offrir une vitrine aux céramiques architecturales par impression 3D. C’est en combinant la céramique traditionnelle à celle de fabrication robotique que l’exposition explore la valeur d’adapter les technologies émergentes aux propriétés uniques de l’argile pour créer de nouvelles formes et langages pour représenter l’espace. Ces explorations formelles et de l’espace sont illustrées par le biais d’une série de murales par impression 3D et de composantes fonctionnelles en céramiques de différentes échelles.
Cette exposition a pu être réalisée grâce au soutien du Masonry Council of Ontario, de Nancy et Bill Schwarz en partenariat avec l’école d’architecture de University of Waterloo, ainsi que du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre.
Extra/Ordinary
Guest Curated by Katherine Marshall
Wendy Walgate, Red is ambition II, 2002. Found vintage ceramics, white earthenware. Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery Permanent Collection. Gift of the Artist. 2007.008.001
June 3 to September 10, 2023
Extra/Ordinary explores the inspiration and use of everyday objects in art. This exhibition examines how artists incorporate objects into their works to create humour and commentary on contemporary issues. The selected works play with historical art values and transcend the lines between art and object. The works in Extra/Ordinary subvert and play with historical art expectations and find humour and beauty in everyday life. This exhibition features pieces from the Gallery’s Permanent Collection by artists Eric van Eineren, Leopold L. Foulem, David Gilhooly, Claus Domine Hansen, Michel Harvey, David James, Mishima Kimiyo, Natalie Silverstein, and Wendy Walgate.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talents Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and The Pottery Supply House.
Extra/Ordinaire explore comment les objets usuels ont non seulement une valeur pratique mais sont aussi une source d’inspiration. L’exposition examine la façon qu’ont les artistes d’utiliser ces objets pour apporter un brin d’humour à leurs créations ainsi qu’en tant que commentaires sur les enjeux de notre époque. Les œuvres choisies pour Extra/Ordinaire jouent avec les valeurs qu’on donnait historiquement à l’art et transcendent la division entre art et objet. Ces œuvres s’amusent avec nos attentes traditionnelles de l’art et capturent l’humour et la beauté du quotidien. L’exposition met en vedette des objets d’arts de la collection permanente du Musée par les artistes Eric van Eineren, Leopold L. Foulem, David Gilhooly, Claus Domine Hansen, Michel Harvey, David James, Mishima Kimiyo, Natalie Silverstein, et Wendy Walgate.
Cette exposition fait partie de la série Talents émergents et a été rendue possible grâce au soutien généreux The Musagetes Fund, de la Waterloo Region Community Foundation et The Pottery Supply House.
Earthborn 2023
July 8 to September 4, 2023
Juror: Naomi Clement
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public.
This year’s winners:
Craft Ontario Best In Show – Bad Ideas by Eekta Trienekens
Tuckers Award of Merit – Vase by Stephen Hawes
PSH Primitive Firing Award – Quail by Marlen Moggach
PSH Handbuilt Award and Fusion Award – Oval Fruit Basket by Lynda Hayward
WPW (Waterloo Potters’ Workshop) Novice Award – Hug Mug by Abbey Nevin
PSH Open Category Award – Magnolias by Moulshree Opal
Dorothy Tutten Best Functional Award – Berry Bowl by Anne Beyers
Featured Artists:
Rosemary Aicher, Joni Baechler, Anne Beyers, Janette Bogart, Wanda Densmore, Anke Dirks-Wehrmann, Judy Donaldson, Maddie Gabriel, Stephen Hawes, Lynda Hayward, Calvin Kellendonk, Angela McKay, Marlen Moggach, Abbey Nevin, Moulshree Opal, Trudy Schulz, Stewart Smith, Eekta Trienekens, Sophie Wang, Mengchao Wu
On Water
June 3 to July 22, 2023
Front Window Display
In the water that sustains and connects us, we find calm and respite, but also challenges and anxiety. The sublime nature of water is perhaps a contradiction, wavering between the known and unknown.
Presented in coordination with Contemporary Art Forum Kitchener and Area (CAFKA), this exhibition explores the 2023 biennial’s theme of Stay with me through the medium of water. The selected works pulled from the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s Permanent Collection, invite us into diverse experiences with water that evoke tranquility, nostalgia, and uncertainty. Our shared existence and the experiences of water that connect us—our (chosen) families, our loved ones, and our communities—invite a moment of pause and a desire to resolve the vulnerabilities and discourses that divide us.
Guardians and Arkangels: Pat Brennan
April 1 to July 5, 2023
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is pleased to present Guardians and Arkangels in its Gordon Barnes Community Gallery. The pieces presented, all from clay sculptor Patricia Brennan, are only a few examples of the collection, which spans an undertaking of more than 38 years. The artist writes:
The Arkangel Project functions as traveling mythology, reflecting its stories of real people involved in earthly action and inspired by heavenly ideals. From my ever-expanding circle of connections, the models arise, embodying both the reflective and the affective, the repulsive and the enlightening. In the relentless circular movement of coiling and manipulating clay, the life-like terra cotta portraits emerge to echo the process of life in a human form—imaginative possibilities presented through changing positions, intervals and attitudes.
We would like to thank Louise MacCallum and Michael Barnstijn who shared with us these magnificent works, and to Carolyn Meili who facilitated the whole process. Our thanks to Shelton Deverell who spoke with Pat of her series and who signs the essay presenting them to us. We all owe a debt of gratitude to Art Historian Sarah Lippert, Pat’s cousin, who first conceived the idea of this show and who, tragically, died before it came to fruition. And of course, a huge thank-you to Patricia Brennan who welcomed me into her house to discuss the project, and shared with us her vision of the world through her work.
The Decorated Surface
January 28 to May 21, 2023
Matthias Ostermann, Carole Epp, Debra Kuzyk and Ray Mackie (Lucky Rabbit), Richard Mund, Karin Pavey, Jim Smith
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The desire to do it, and the feeling that it needs to be done, have been almost as universal as the desire to dance or to make footprints in the sand.
—Alan Caiger-Smith
Decorating pots has a long history and its study allows us to explore and understand cultures from around the world. From its beginning, pottery offered a surface for decoration. For example, the earlier pots of the Jomon culture (Japan, 14,000 to 7,500 BCE) used for cooking or storing food, had cord-markings imprinted on their surface. Painted Greek pottery dates to the Stone Age (4000 to 2000 BCE) and more elaborate decoration appeared in the Bronze Age (3300 to 1200 BCE) depicting the lifestyle of the times as well as myths and legends. Their study gives us a glimpse into their religious beliefs, rituals, and cultural practices.
This project, The Decorated Surface, has been percolating for a long time. It is meant both as an homage to the late Matthias Ostermann (1950-2009) and as a look at contemporary decorated surface in the work of six Canadian artists. Ostermann became known for his maiolica, the three books and many articles he published, as well as the workshops he gave internationally. The artists presented are Carole Epp (Saskatchewan), Debra Kuzyk and Ray Mackie (Lucky Rabbit, Nova Scotia), Richard Mund (Ontario), Karin Pavey (Ontario), and Jim Smith (Nova Scotia). Each one of them is known for their unique style of decorating—some looking back at history while others address current issues.
Le désir de le faire, et le sentiment que cela doit être fait, ont été presque aussi universels que le désir de danser ou celui de laisser des traces de pas dans le sable.
—Alan Caiger-Smith
L’art de décorer les pots a une longue histoire et son étude nous permet d’explorer et de comprendre les cultures du monde. Dès ses débuts, la poterie offrait une surface invitante à décorer. Par exemple, les plus anciens pots de la culture Jomon (Japon, 14 000 à 7 500 AVE), utilisés pour cuire ou conserver la nourriture, montrent des empreintes de cordes pressées sur leur surface. Les poteries grecques sont peintes dès l’âge de pierre (4 000 à 2 000 AVE) et des décorations plus élaborées apparues à l’âge de bronze (3 300 à 1 200 AVE) illustrent des scènes de la vie courante ou des mythes et légendes. Leur étude nous informe sur les croyance, les rites et les pratiques religieuses et culturelles.
La surface décorée est un projet longuement mûri. Son intention est de rendre hommage au regretté Matthias Ostermann (1950 – 2009) et d’examiner le travail de décor de six artistes canadiens contemporains. Ostermann est bien connu pour ses majoliques, les trois livres et les nombreux articles qu’il a publiés ainsi que les ateliers qu’il a dirigés à l’international. Les artistes présentés sont Carole Epp (Saskatchewan), Debra Kuzyk et Ray Mackie (Lucky Rabbit, Nouvelle-Écosse), Richard Mund (Ontario), Karin Pavey (Ontario) et Jim Smith (Nouvelle-Écosse). Chacun se reconnait par son style unique inspiré par l’histoire ou par les événements présents.
Lunar Reflections
January 28 to May 21, 2023
Ariel Hill
Guest Curated by Cheyenne Mapplebeck
Inspired by Haudenosaunee and Anishinaabe cultures as well as the environment, indigenous artist Ariel Hill seeks to explore the relationships between the natural world and human experiences. It is Ariel’s hope that by honouring the visual beauty and fine details that exist within nature, she might evoke a sense of connection between the viewer and the subject matter. Over the past few years, Ariel’s practice has begun to reflect more and more of the culture that connects her to the land as an Indigenous woman. From this, Lunar Reflections began to form.
Lunar Reflections invites viewers to explore the teachings of the thirteen grandmother moons through intricately designed glass vessels and beaded works. Each moon represents a time in the year that connects people to the land and to spirit. These moons each have a powerful story intended to guide us and remind us of our deep connections to the earth. How it heals us, how it nurtures us, and how we must protect and respect the earth in turn.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation.
Inspirée par les cultures haudenosaunee et anishinaabe ainsi que par l’environnement, l’artiste autochtone Ariel Hill cherche à explorer la relation entre le monde naturel et l’expérience humaine. Son espoir est qu’en honorant la beauté existant jusque dans les plus fins détails de la nature, elle suscitera une prise de conscience de la connexion qui existe entre le visiteur et le thème proposé par l’artiste. Aussi, la pratique d’Ariel tend depuis quelques années à mieux refléter son identité de femme autochtone et la culture qui la lie à la terre. C’est là que Reflets lunaires a pris forme.
Présentant des vases en verre finement dessinés et des objets perlés, Reflets lunaires invite le spectateur à explorer les enseignements des treize lunes amérindiennes. Chaque lune représente une période de l’année qui connecte différemment les gens à la terre et à l’esprit. Chacune possède une histoire édifiante visant à nous guider, à nous rappeler de nos liens profonds avec la planète. Comme elle nous guérit et nous nourrit, nous devons à notre tour la protéger et la respecter.
Cette exposition est présentée dans le cadre de notre série Talents émergents grâce au soutien financier du fonds Musagetes, géré par la Waterloo Region Community Foundation.
Familiar Ways
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation.
January 28 to May 21, 2023
Dauma Stirbyte
For many, art and creativity are sources of calm and happiness, and in ceramics we often find the comfort of a favourite mug or beauty of a vase. In the work of Dauma Stirbyte however, these objects and sculptures take a darker twist. Blending playfulness and nostalgia with fear and anxiety, these sculptures present an altered reality: an experience that draws both upon our memories and our uncertainty in the future.
Growing up, Dauma found solace in books, video games, music, and quiet places, and spent much of her time on her grandparents’ farms, exploring the world of animals and plants. It is there that she found her love of insects and botany, a theme that is prevalent in her work as she twists and unravels narratives with worms, beetles, and ants. In the textures and narratives of her assemblages of ceramics and other materials, Dauma draws us in and opens a door, not necessarily into her life, but perhaps into some combination of hers, our own, and the unknown. It is an experience that seems deep and limitless as we step into a world at once familiar and surreal.
Pour plusieurs, l’art et la créativité sont source de calme et de bonheur; l’art de la céramique y contribue par le contact avec une tasse favorite ou la vue d’un beau vase. Mais lorsque travaillés par Dauma Stirbyte, les objets et les sculptures prennent une tournure plutôt étrange. Dégageant un esprit ludique et nostalgique entremêlé de peur et d’anxiété, ses oeuvres nous offrent une réalité altérée, une expérience qui puise à la fois dans nos souvenirs et dans notre incertitude face à l’avenir.
Enfant, Dauma trouvait son réconfort dans les livres, les jeux vidéo, la musique et les endroits tranquilles; elle passait aussi de grandes périodes à la ferme de ses grands-parents, explorant le monde animal et végétal. C’est là que s’est forgé son amour des insectes et de la botanique, thèmes prédominants dans son oeuvre où elle invente des rôles joués par des lombrics, des coléoptères et des fourmis. Dans la texture et la narration de ces assemblages de céramique et autres matériaux, Dauma nous attire vers une porte entr’ouverte sur non seulement sa vie à elle mais peut-être sur une combinaison de la sienne, de la nôtre et de l’inconnu. Il en résulte une expérience qui semble profonde et sans limites alors que nous pénétrons dans un monde aussi familier que surréel.
Essence
January 14 to May 14, 2023
Joël Brodovsky-Adams, Susan Collett, Kathy Kranias, Montserrat Duran Muntadas, & Brad Turner
Telling a story, sharing an emotion, or sparking introspection can take many forms in the art and objects that surround us. Through abstraction, artists can distill an image to its most simple form; a traditional vessel becomes altered into a representation of something new or a sculpture is modified to reveal and inspire.
In these forms we find feelings and experiences, yet also space for individual interpretation and engagement. Shared thoughts of human experience, emotional responses, artistic practice, and our changing world are just some of the vast and diverse themes explored through conceptual and abstracted forms that not only reveal, but also spark new ideas and emotions within each viewer.
Essence brings together the work of five artists, Joël Brodovsky-Adams, Susan Collett, Kathy Kranias, Montserrat Duran Muntadas, and Brad Turner. Each with a unique practice in ceramics or glass, these artists are united in their abstraction of forms and images. Through their work, they distill their concepts to an essence that, when experienced, develops, grows, and changes within each of us. Altering our perceptions of what appear to be functional pieces, but which are in fact unusable, and presenting forms that require a closer look and engagement, these works engage with concepts of the environment, artistic practice, and human experience. They share the views and experiences of their respective artists and draw us in to become participants in the development of these images and ideas.
De maintes façons, l’art et les objets qui nous entourent racontent une histoire, suscitent une émotion ou favorisent l’introspection. Par l’abstraction, un artiste peut ramener une image à sa plus simple expression : un objet traditionnel se transforme en représentation inattendue, une sculpture devient une inspiration.
Les formes abstraites représentent des émotions et des expériences tout en laissant assez d’espace pour une interprétation et une interaction personnelles. La pensée et les émotions humaines, la pratique artistique et l’évolution constante du monde sont quelques-uns des innombrables thèmes explorés dans les formes abstraites ou conceptuelles qui non seulement révèlent ces idées, ces émotions, mais en font naitre de nouvelles chez chaque spectateur.
Essence rassemble des œuvres de cinq artistes : Joël Brodovsky-Adams, Susan Collett, Kathy Kranias, Montserrat Duran Muntadas et Brad Turner. Chacun a sa pratique bien à soi, céramique ou verre, mais ils ont en commun un amour de l’abstraction. Leur procédé consiste à épurer un concept jusqu’à en révéler une essence dont la perception germera, se développera et se transformera en chacun de nous. En altérant notre compréhension de ce qui semble être un objet fonctionnel, mais qui en fait est inutilisable, et en présentant des formes qui demandent d’être examinées avec intérêt, ces oeuvres font réfléchir sur l’environnement, sur la place de l’artiste et sur l’expérience humaine. Elles représentent les vues et les expériences personnelles de chaque artiste tout en nous invitant à participer au développement des idées exprimées.
Voices
September 24, 2022 to January 15, 2023
Could we ever know each other in the slightest without the arts?
Gabrielle Roy (1909-1983)
Recently, a newspaper headline caught my attention: Hate crimes were on the rise. A quick search on the Statistics Canada website confirmed that “the first year of the pandemic saw the number of police-reported hate crimes increase by 37%.” Over the past few years, and more so with the election of President Donald Trump in the United States, we have seen a rise in white supremacy groups. They are getting more vocal in showcasing their hate, targeting racialized minorities and 2SLGBTQIA+ groups in increasingly public displays of abuse and oppression.
In 2019, Voices started with a call for proposals for a national project on diversity, equity, and inclusion. We were to present the exhibition in the fall of 2021. Then, the pandemic stopped everything. More inequalities, climate challenges, racial profiling, and the lasting impacts of residential schools took centre stage and spurred calls for social and institutional change. Every Child Matters, Land Back, Black Lives Matter, and the School Strike for Climate movements took hold and garnered nationwide attention. We created a second call for the exhibition, and more artists applied, with the show planned for the fall of 2022. We also developed a special installation for this exhibition titled A Place at the Table. For this project, we invited many public figures to come to the gallery to decorate a plate illustrating their views on diversity, equity, and inclusion in Canada. Public programming during the exhibition will also invite visitors to take their place at the table.
We are grateful to our supporters, especially The Musagetes Fund held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation, without whom this important project would not have been possible.
The exhibition showcases the voices of thirty-three artists selected among the proposals received from across Canada, as well as five others with works from our Permanent Collection. In addition, fourteen writers have interpreted the selected pieces for the catalogue, sharing more profound insights and drawing connections across works, further amplifying these voices.
It is time for social justice to take the stage. From the World Vision website, “Social justice is grounded in the idea that every human being deserves the full spectrum of political, economic and social rights, and opportunities.” Nobody is asking for special rights, only the same human rights for all.
We invite you to take the time to listen to each one and reflect…
Un titre de journal a récemment capté notre attention : les crimes haineux sont en hausse. Une recherche rapide sur le site internet de Statistiques Canada nous a confirmé que « la première année de la pandémie a vu le nombre de crimes haineux déclarés par la police augmenter de 37% ». Depuis quelques années, et surtout suivant l’élection du président américain Donald Trump, on constate une montée de groupes suprémacistes blancs qui manifestent publiquement et bruyamment leur haine envers les minorités raciales et les groupes 2SLBGTQIA+.
En 2019, nous lancions un appel de propositions pour un projet national consacré à la diversité, l’équité et l’inclusion. L’exposition À voix haute devait être présentée à l’automne 2021mais la pandémie est survenue et a tout arrêté. Depuis, d’autres injustices, d’autres inégalités sociales, les changements climatiques, le profilage racial et l’impact persistant des pensionnats autochtones ont occupé l’espace public et des voix se sont élevées demandant des changements sociaux et institutionnels. Les mouvements Chaque enfant compte, Land Back, Black Lives Matter et les grèves scolaires pour le climat sont apparus et ont capté l’attention populaire. Nous avons décidé de renouveler notre appel de propositions pour une exposition prévue à l’automne 2022 et encore plus d’artistes ont répondu. Nous avons également décidé d’inclure une installation spéciale baptisée Une place à table où des personnalités publiques ont été invitées à venir exprimer leur vision de la diversité, l’équité et l’inclusion au Canada en décorant une assiette. Une activité similaire permettra aux visiteurs de l’exposition de prendre aussi leur place à table.
Parmi les propositions reçues de partout au Canada, trente-deux projets ont été retenus auxquels s’ajouteront cinq œuvres choisies dans notre collection permanente. De plus, quatorze écrivains rajouteront leurs voix au catalogue avec leur interprétation d’œuvres choisies et les réflexions qu’elles leur auront inspirées.
Il est grand temps que la justice sociale prenne l’avant-scène. Vu sur le site internet de Vision mondiale : « La justice sociale prend racine dans l’idée que tout être humain mérite d’accéder à tous les droits et opportunités politiques, économiques et sociaux ». Nous ne demandons aucun droit spécial pour quiconque, juste les mêmes droits humains pour tous.
Nous vous invitons à prendre le temps d’écouter la voix de l’autre….
Participating Artists
Roger Aksadjuak, Marissa Y Alexander, PJ Anderson, Carissa Baktay, Ann Beam, Catherine Benoit, Annabel Biro, Teresa Burrows, Gabrielle S Castonguay, Montserrat Duran Muntadas and Jean-Simon Trottier, Debbie Ebanks Schlums, Beverley Ellis, Behnaz Fatemi, Hope Forstenzer, Lux Gow-Habrich, William Hodge, Alexandre Hupé, Saulius Jaskus, Morgan Kamocki Allaby, Joon Hee Kim, Michèle Lapointe, Shauna MacLeod, Ingrid Mayrhofer, Heidi McKenzie, Kathy Ouellette, Dimitri Papatheodorou, Karla Rivera, Nurgül Rodriguez, Arezu Salamzadeh, Jess Sallay-Carrington, Yvo Samgushak, lo scott, Jonah Strub, Eli Tikeayak, Tobias Tomlinson, Gise Trauttmansdorff, Blaire Trenaman, Gabriela Wilson, and Nikola Wojewoda.
The Voices Exhibition is Generously Sponsored by:
Emergence 2022
September 24, 2022 to January 8, 2023
Emergence celebrates the winners and finalists of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists. In recognition of the work of promising young ceramic artists, the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics is presented this year to Matthew O’Reilly of Calgary, Alberta. Also featured in the exhibition are award finalists Katie Lemieux (Thunder Bay, ON), Alana MacDougall (Winnipeg, MB), Heidi McKenzie (Toronto, ON), Rebecca Ramsey (Montréal, QC), and Daumante Stirbyte (London, ON).
This year, the Gallery is excited to celebrate the return of our award for emerging glass artists thanks to the support of RBC Emerging Artists. The RBC Award for Glass is presented to Jared Last of Revelstoke, BC. Finalists included in the exhibition are Charlie Larouche-Potvin (Montréal, QC), Jeanne Létourneau (Montréal, QC), and Jérémie St-Onge (Montréal, QC).
The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics and RBC Award for Glass are presented annually by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery with the support of The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts held at Waterloo Region Community Foundation and RBC Emerging Artists, respectively. The only national awards for emerging ceramic and glass artists in Canada, these prestigious prizes provide $10,000 to an artist in each medium to undertake a period of independent research and other activities that advance their artistic and professional practice. The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics was juried by Robin DuPont, Kevin Andrew Morris, and Susan Surette. The RBC Award for Glass was juried by Laura Donefer, Dr Juliette MacDonald, and Julia Reimer.
For more information about the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, click here.
For more information about the RBC Award for Glass, click here.
Émergence vous présente les gagnants et finalistes de deux concours du Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre réservés aux artistes de la relève.
Célébrant le talent des jeunes céramistes, le Prix d’art céramique Winifred Shantz est remis cette année à Matthew O’Reilly de Calgary, Alberta. Aussi présentés dans cette exposition, les finalistes sont Katie Lemieux (Thunder Bay, ON), Alana MacDougall (Winnipeg, MB), Heidi McKenzie (Toronto, ON), Rebecca Ramsey (Montréal, QC) et Daumante Stirbyte (London, ON).
Le Musée est également fier de marquer cette année le retour d’un prix pour la relève en art verrier grâce au soutien de la RBC et son programme Artistes émergents RBC. Le Prix RBC Art verrier 2022 est décerné à Jared Last de Revelstoke, CB. Les finalistes participant à l’exposition sont Charlie Larouche-Potvin (Montréal, QC), Jeanne Létourneau (Montréal, QC) et Jérémie St-Onge (Montréal, QC).
Le Prix d’art céramique Winifred Shantz et le Prix RBC Art verrier sont remis chaque année par le Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre grâce au soutien du Fonds Keith et Winifred Shantz pour les arts, géré par la Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation, et à celui du programme Artistes émergents de la RBC. Ces concours canadiens, les seuls consacrés à la relève en art céramique et verrier, offrent une récompense de 10 000 $ au lauréat de chaque médium afin qu’il puisse entreprendre des activités de recherche ou de perfectionnement qui avanceront sa carrière artistique ou professionnelle.
Le jury pour le Prix d’art céramique Winifred Shantz réunissait Robin DuPont, Kevin Andrew Morris et Susan Surette. Le Prix Art verrier RBC a été jugé par Laura Donefer, Juliette MacDonald Ph.D. et Julia Reimer.
Through the Eyes of a Dancer
August 13 to January 15, 2022
Guest Curated by Katharine Bourgon
As a former professional dancer, teacher, and choreographer, Katharine Bourgon brings a unique perspective to her selection of pieces from the permanent collection of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. First as a volunteer and now as a staff member, Katharine has had ample opportunity to peruse and admire the work in this collection. When asked to curate her own show, she found that the pieces that moved her were literally pieces that contained or embodied movement. After 45 years in the dance world, the chance to combine her abiding passion for dance with her new passion for the Gallery was a priceless gift.
Community Perspectives is a new initiative by the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery that will see members of diverse communities share their interests and experiences through an exhibition comprised of works selected from the permanent collection housed in the Gallery’s vault. For over 30 years, the Gallery has collected works in clay, glass, and vitreous enamel; many have been donated and some have been purchased with funds secured through grants. “Through the Eyes of a Dancer” is the first in this exciting series.
From the Collection: Recent Acquisitions
September 2021 to February 2022
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery’s Permanent Collections contains more than 1,000 artworks in glass, ceramics, and copper enamel that are held in public trust. The Permanent Collection has grown largely thanks to the generosity of artists and private collectors who have donated their works so that we can preserve and exhibit these important pieces of Canadian Culture. Visit the Gallery to see some of the most recent additions to our Permanent Collection!
John A. Pollock Family Courtyard Exhibition
Tactile Impressions: Amber Zuber
May 21 to October 2, 2022
Pushing, pulling, twisting, and tearing, Amber Zuber works with ceramic at its most tactile level. Rather than making the ceramic appear as something else, she embraces the materiality and plasticity of the clay to produce works that reveal process and expression. The hand of the artist and the spirit of her manipulation of the unfired clay is ever present in her finished pieces. Glazed in pastel hues of pinks, purples, and yellows, Zuber’s work is softened somewhat, balancing between soft and abrasive. Presented in the unique architecture of the John A. Pollock Family Courtyard, Tactile Impressions both connects to, and departs from, the contradicting wood, tile, and concrete of this industrial space. For Amber Zuber, she is making what she cannot say, and making visible what is impossible to describe.
Ces mains qui poussent, tirent, tordent et déchirent sont celles d’Amber Zuber, qui travaille la céramique de façon très tactile : plutôt que d’essayer de déguiser la nature de la céramique, elle embrasse la matérialité et la plasticité de l’argile crue et produit des oeuvres expressives et révélatrices de son procédé. Ses mains et l’essence de ses manipulations restent présentes jusque dans ses céramiques finies. Enduites de glaçures aux tons pastels de rose, mauve et jaunes qui les adoucissent, les oeuvres de Zuber hésitent entre délicatesse et âpreté. Mise en valeur par l’architecture unique de la Cour intérieure John A. Pollock, l’exposition Impressions tactiles s’accorde avec le bois, la tuile et le béton de cet espace industriel tout en le contredisant. Amber Zuber crée avec ses mains ce que ses mots ne peuvent pas dire et fait apparaître ce qui est impossible à décrire.
Amber Zuber is a Toronto artist currently living in rural Norfolk County. She received her Masters of Arts (Ceramics) at the Royal College of Art in London, UK. Previously she was a full-time artist-in-resident at Harbourfront Centre. She also studied ceramics at Sheridan College and earned a Bachelor of Arts in History at McMaster University. Zuber has shown her work nationally and internationally, including Germany, Denmark, and the United Kingdom.
The Rose Window Revisited and Reimagined
John Highley, Siobhan Lynch, Teresa Seaton, Joe Speck
May 21 to September 11, 2022
Rose windows have been adorning European cathedrals for centuries. The art of stained glass peaked during the Middle Ages in Europe. These colourful windows were used to educate and preach in churches and cathedrals by illustrating passages from the Bible. The rose window found its origin in the Roman oculus (as seen in the Pantheon, for example). Through the centuries, it was transformed, and coloured glass was used to materialize the light, often overpoweringly, to emphasize the dominion of the Church. Rose window designs have fascinated glass artists from the Medieval period to today and have followed architectural trends through history.
During the pandemic, a group of Ontario glass artists, under the banner of the Artistic Group of Glass (AGOG), sent us an exhibition proposal. The four artists, Teresa Seaton, John Highley, Siobhan Lynch and Joe Speck, have revisited and reimagined the rose window in contemporary terms and various glass approaches, including stained glass, fused glass, and glass mosaic. They have created a vibrant and intriguing display celebrating light, colour and form.
Meet the Artists!
Artists Joe Speck and Teresa Seaton will be at the Gallery on Saturdays through the summer. Come see the exhibition and ask them about their work!
July 9 from 12-5pm, Joe Speck
July 16 from 1-3pm, Teresa Seaton
August 20 from 1-3pm, Teresa Seaton
Les rosaces ornent les cathédrales de l’Europe depuis des siècles. L’art du vitrail a connu son apogée durant le moyen âge dans ces fenêtres colorées qui servaient à éduquer et prêcher en illustrant des passages de la Bible. Quant à la rosace, sa forme trouve sa source dans l’oculus romain, tel celui du Panthéon. Au fil des années, on l’a modifiée et garnie de verre coloré qui matérialise la lumière, parfois intensément, afin de promouvoir l’idée du pouvoir divin de l’Église. Les rosaces et leurs motifs ont fasciné les artistes du verre depuis les temps médiévaux jusqu’à aujourd’hui et se sont adaptées aux courants architecturaux historiques.
Durant la pandémie, un groupe d’artistes du verre ontariens, rassemblés sous le sigle AGOG (Artistic Group Of Glass), nous ont fait parvenir un projet d’exposition. Ces quatre artistes, Teresa Seaton, John Highly, Siobhan Lynch et Joe Speck, ont réexaminé la rosace et l’ont réimaginée en termes contemporains en utilisant des techniques variées comme le vitrail, le fusing et la mosaïque. Il en résulte un spectacle vibrant et intriguant, une célébration mariant lumière, couleur et forme.
Grading Light
May 21 to September 11, 2022
James Clarke-Hicks and Isabel Ochoa
In the soft glow of a light that warms a room, we find comfort and ambience. Yet lighting fixtures are too often utilitarian objects that reflect little design or craft. Grading Light challenges this in the 3D printed ceramic forms produced by Isabel Ochoa and James Clarke-Hicks that balance art and function in carefully designed lamps and pendants. While using the traditional forms and properties of translucent porcelain and opaque stoneware, James and Isabel incorporate 3D modelling and clay printing. The resulting works presented in Grading Light challenge our expectations and understandings of ceramics, art, technology, and light.
Isabel and James developed their lamps to interact with light in unique ways through multiple designs and prototyping phases by creating structures that bend and refract the light to produce the desired effects. The artist-designers of these works place the potential use of 3D printed ceramics in design elements and creative applications at the forefront. Also present, however, is a clear demonstration that these objects are more than functional objects; they are intricately crafted works of art.
The artists gratefully acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and The C3 Group of Companies.
Une lueur douce qui se répand dans une pièce y apporte confort et ambiance. Mais les luminaires ne sont trop souvent que des objets utilitaires pauvres en design et en savoir-faire. Moduler la lumière relève ce défi : les céramiques 3D créées par Isabel Ochoa et James Clarke-Hicks démontrent un bel équilibre entre art et fonction dans des lampes et lustres conçus avec soin. Partant de modèles traditionnels et se basant sur la translucidité de la porcelaine et l’opacité du grès, James et Isabel explorent la modélisation 3D et l’impression à l’argile. Les oeuvres résultantes présentées dans cette exposition bousculent nos idées reçues sur la céramique, l’art, la technologie et la lumière.
Isabel et James développent des luminaires qui interagissent avec la lumière de façon unique. De nombreuses étapes de conception et plusieurs prototypes sont nécessaires pour arriver à créer des structures produisant divers effets de réfraction lumineuse. Les deux artistes et concepteurs s’intéressent avant tout au potentiel de l’impression céramique 3D pour la création d’éléments décoratifs. À première vue, cependant, il apparait clairement que ces luminaires sont plus que des objets purement fonctionnels; ce sont de véritables objets d’art.
Les artistes souhaitent remercier le Conseil des arts du Canada et le Region of Waterloo Arts Fund pour leur soutien.
21 Pillows: Cheryl Wilson-Smith
May 29 to September 11, 2022
Cheryl Wilson-Smith’s Exhibition gallery is lit to simulate dusk and imbued with ambient raven calls. As you move through the installation you are encouraged to select a kiln-fired glass rock from the thousands made by the artist and place it in a spot you are drawn to among the 21 pillows. Your interaction and the collective energy of all other participants will shape the development of the installation and provide everyone the opportunity to contemplate the passage of time and the vulnerability of both humanity and the natural world.
Cheryl Wilson-Smith lives in Red Lake, Ontario surrounded by the boreal forest and the Canadian Shield. 21 Pillows is a reminder of how we affect the natural world over time, and by extension, ourselves.
Organized and circulated by Thunder Bay Art Gallery with support from the Ontario Arts Council.
Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Facade Systems
May 7 to August 7, 2022
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa
University of Waterloo Architecture students test how building facades of the future can be 3D printed with clay. Inspired by nature, ancient architectural traditions and new technology, the students develop new methods and processes that re-envision the clay masonry unit.
Working with a state-of-the-art large-volume clay extrusion 3D printer, Assistant Professor David Correa’s students set out to explore how this highly used building material can be re-envisioned for the future. This fabrication tool allows for an unprecedented level of design freedom when compared with conventional brick-making methods, while still engaging the material properties and characteristics of traditional clay.
The exhibition includes 3 student projects that test the new architectural qualities of 3D printed facades, where each clay brick can be unique. The projects include a wide range of playful wall systems, ornamental and light-modulating cladding systems, as well as rainscreen and solar-shading facades.
Participants: [Laila Mourad, Tara Cooper, Adrian Chiu], [Esraa Saad Abouamer, Peter Kwak, Jikyung Jeon], [Safaa Alnabelseya, Hania Shehab, Parastoo Varshosaz, Stephanie Wilson].
Special thanks to: Andrew Payne, Conroy Murray, Scott Jeffries, Dean Garbutt, Heinz Koller, Michael Syms, Anne Bordeleau, Emily Stafford, Jessica Steinhausser, Isabel Ochoa, James Clarke-Hicks and Denis Longchamps.
Bricks kindly sponsored by Canada Brick.
This exhibition is made possible by Masonry Works Council of Ontario in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo and The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
Disruption
Natalia Arbelaez, Magdolene Dykstra, Habiba El Sayed, & Heidi McKenzie
February 5 to May 15, 2022
Disruption investigates how four women of colour use their practices to disrupt a predominantly white, male, Eurocentric art narrative. This exhibition is part of the larger project to deconstruct society’s racist and sexist structural underpinnings with the aim of building a new foundation of multiplicity. Natalia Arbelaez, Magdolene Dykstra, Habiba El-Sayed, and Heidi McKenzie work to fashion a more egalitarian canon through artistic practices that delve into diverse histories. Arbelaez and McKenzie draw our attention to narratives that have long been overlooked. El Sayed and Dykstra use abstraction to subvert the spectator’s gaze, while simultaneously insisting upon their visibility.
Magdolene Dykstra and Heidi McKenzie would like to acknowledge the support of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.
[sp_easyaccordion id=”12974″]Perturbations présente quatre femme issues de minorités visibles dont la démarche artistique cherche à élargir le discours sur l’art qui est en prédominance masculin, eurocentrique et blanc. Cette exposition fait partie d’un large projet visant à déconstruire les courants structurels sous-jacents du racisme et du sexisme afin de rebâtir la société sur des assises multiples. Natalia Arbelaez, Magdolene Dykstra, Habiba El-Sayed et Heidi McKenzie travaillent à établir un canon artistique plus équitable en y incluant des pratiques basées sur une histoire diversifiée. Arbelaez et McKenzie attirent notre attention sur des récits depuis longtemps oubliés. El-Sayed et Dykstra utilisent l’abstrait pour subvertir le regard des visiteurs tout en exposant leur visibilité.
Magdolene Dykstra et Heidi McKenzie désirent remercier le Conseil des arts du Canada et le Conseil des arts de l’Ontario pour son soutien.
CONFINED
February 1 to May 8, 2022
In March 2020, COVID-19 brought all of us to a standstill. In an instant, our lives changed dramatically in ways that we never expected as we coped with the isolation and confinement of a pandemic that swept around the world. As a result, many artists were barred from their studios—communal spaces of shared experience and creation. This situation encouraged some makers to explore new techniques, ideas, and modes of connecting, while others struggled with restricted access and isolation. Revealing the social, economic, and mental health issues that many of us face in new and more striking ways, COVID-19 also provided an opportunity to reflect, conceptualize, and create.
CONFINED brings together pieces from 31 artists from across Canada working in ceramics, glass, and copper enamelling. Through their diverse and intriguing works, these artists share the difficulties, trauma, and inventive creativity they experienced during the COVID-19 restrictions. As the pandemic slowly fades from our daily lives, CONFINED shows us the varied experiences of artists while reminding us of the societal cracks that were revealed and deepened by the pandemic and the potential for creation and innovation in the face of adversity.
En mars 2020, la COVID-19 mettait le monde en pause. En un instant, nos vies ont changé de façons qu’on n’aurait jamais pu imaginer alors que nous avons dû nous adapter à l’isolement et au confinement en réponse à une pandémie mondiale. En conséquence, nombre d’artistes ont été privés de leurs ateliers, de leurs espaces de création et d’expériences partagées. Cela a mené certains artisans à l’expérimentation de techniques, d’idées et de nouvelles façons de connecter pendant que d’autres peinaient à composer avec l’isolement. Si pour un grand nombre l’épidémie a rendu criants bien des problèmes socioéconomiques et leurs effets sur la santé mentale, elle aura aussi créé de belles occasions de réfléchir, conceptualiser et créer.
CONFINÉS réunit des œuvres en verre, céramique et émaux sur cuivre par 31 artistes de partout au Canada. Leurs pièces uniques et intrigantes nous parlent des difficultés, des épreuves et de l’inventivité qu’ils ont vécues durant le confinement. Maintenant que les mesures sanitaires s’adoucissent, CONFINÉS nous expose à une gamme d’expériences personnelles qui nous rappellent les fissures sociales aggravées par la pandémie mais nous confirme aussi le potentiel humain pour la création et l’innovation devant l’adversité.
A Catalogue for the exhibition is available in the Gallery Shop and Shop Online.
Featured Artists: Claire Anderson, Dick Averns, Jacinthe Baribeau, Laura Becker, Marie-Andrée Côté, Laurent Craste, Jerre Davidson, Karine Giboulo, Amy Gogarty, Jennifer Anne Kelly, Jordan MacLachlan, Alexandra McCurdy, Laura McKibbon, Natalie Nadeau & Crissy Jarvis, Maja Padrov, Janet Panabaker, Gilles Payette, Carole Pilon, Peter Powning, Leslie Putnam, Julia Reimer, Jessica Sallay-Carrington, Marko Savard, Jason Schiedel, Lo Scott, Yvonne Singer, Jan Smith, Alain-Marie Tremblay, Eekta Trienekens, Layne Verbeek, and George Whitney.
This exhibition is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund, held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation.
Emerging Talent Series
Erosion as a Process: Hannan Fayad
February 1 to May 8, 2022
Through the forces of erosion that slowly alter our landscapes glass artist Hannan Fayad sees both the power of the natural environment and the role that humans play in our changing climate. Wind, sand, and water wear away and break the earth with impressive force that reveals striking patterns over time. Using a sandblaster as a carving tool, Fayad mimics these eroding forces on her own glass forms. In a range of colours and shapes, the once strong glass pieces become delicate frames of their former selves. The structure of the form remains, but the etched holes evoke the erosion patterns that inspire Fayad. They invite close inspection, and a desire to explore the strands of glass that hold together their airy forms. At the same time, however, the delicacy of these forms elicits caution—both of the human impact that speeds climate change and of the fragility of the natural environment’s balance that can be shattered so quickly.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and The C3 Group of Companies.
L’artiste du verre Hannan Fayad voit dans les forces de l’érosion qui altèrent lentement nos paysages autant le travail de la nature que le rôle de l’humain dans les changements climatiques. C’est avec une force étonnante que le vent, le sable et l’eau désagrègent lentement le territoire et révèlent des motifs étonnants. Fayad sculpte à l’aide d’un jet de sable, imitant ainsi l’érosion naturelle sur le verre. De couleurs et de formes diverses, les solides blocs de verre se vident pour révéler leur charpente délicate. La structure originale de la forme demeure mais les vides laissés par l’outil évoquent les motifs de l’érosion naturelle dont s’inspire l’artiste. Ces espaces creux invitent à se rapprocher, à plonger le regard à travers les brins de verre qui composent ces formes aériennes. Mais leur délicatesse apparente se veut aussi un avertissement sur l’impact humain qui accélère les changements climatiques et sur l’équilibre précaire de notre environnement naturel qui pourrait se rompre brutalement.
Cette exposition fait partie de la série Emergent Talent et a été rendue possible grâce au soutien généreux de Musagetes Foundation, de la Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation et de C3 Group of Companies.
Earthborn 2022
March 5 to May 1, 2022
Juror: Sequoia Miller
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public.
Artist in Residence: Kirsti Smith
April 2022
Kirsti Smith was the second artist to take part in the ongoing artist residency program at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery. During this eight week residency from February – April 2022, Kirsti also supported gallery programming and led the ‘My Still Life’ project, currently on display in the family centre, with support of the Rotary Club of Kitchener Grand River
Kirsti Smith is a ceramic artist that creates personal narratives through her sculptures. She begins with inspirations from her own family history, sisterhood, and emotions such as grief and innocence to produce physical moments. She creates tactile art that can be touched, as well as emotionally connected to; forming an intimate experience for the viewer. Blurring the lines between fine art and functional ceramics, Kirsti brings familiar emotions into tangible experiences.
From the Collection: Smith & Robinson
August 2021 to March 2022
View a selection of works from our Permanent Collection by glass artist Michael Robinson and Talking Earth Pottery artists Steve Smith, Leigh Smith, Santee Smith, and Semiah Smith. In glass and porcelain, these Indigenous artists explore vessel forms, textures, and narratives in these striking works.
2021 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics
September 15, 2021 to January 16, 2022
2021 Winner: Jocelyn Reid
2021 Finalists: Mitsuo Kimura, Matthew O’Reilly, & Jessica Sallay-Carrington
2020 Winner: Joon Hee Kim
To view a digital version of this exhibition, click here.
The 2021 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics Winner, Jocelyn Reid of Calgary, Alberta, is celebrated in this exhibition alongside finalists Mitsuo Kimura (Toronto, ON), Matthew O’Reilly (Calgary, AB), and Jessica Sallay-Carrington (Montreal, QC), as well as the 2020 Award Winner, Joon Hee Kim of Oakville, Ontario.
The Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics is supported by The Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts, held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation. This prestigious $10,000 award allows practising early career ceramic artists to undertake a period of independent research, or other activities that advance their artistic and professional practice. This year’s award was juried by Amy Gogarty, Maja Padrov, and Susan Surette.
Le Prix de la céramique Winifred Shantz 2021, Jocelyn Reid de Calgary, Alberta, est célébrée dans cette exposition avec les finalistes Mitsuo Kimura (Toronto, ON), Matthew O’Reilly (Calgary, AB), et Jessica Sallay-Carrington (Montréal, QC), de même que la gagnante du Prix 2020, Joon Hee Kim d’Oakville, Ontario.
Le Prix de la céramique Winifred Shantz est présenté annuellement par le Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre et est soutenu financièrement par le Keith and Winifred Shantz Fund for the Arts administré par la Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation. Le prestigieux prix de $10,000 permet à un artiste en céramique en début de carrière d’entreprendre une recherche indépendante, ou tout autre activité pour l’avancement de leur pratique professionnelle. Cette année, le jury pour le prix était composé d’Amy Gogarty, Maja Padrov, et Susan Surette.
Good Earth: The Pots & Passion of Walter Ostrom
July 17 to December 31, 2021
Co-curated by Dr. Sandra Alfoldy, Shannon Parker, and Dr. Julie Hollenbach
Energy. Enthusiasm. Knowledge. Honesty. Inspired. Ardor for material. These are the terms that describe Walter Ostrom and his relationship with clay. They can also be summed up in one word: Passion.
Passion is a simple word and yet the immense complexity of it as a concept is at the core of Ostrom and from it flows the worldwide mosaic of his relationships, his incredible devotion as an educator, his drive for knowledge, and his love for creativity in all aspects of his life, but particularly for pottery.
Walter Ostrom is one of Canada’s foremost ceramic artists. He revolutionized clay from ethical brown earthenware to colourful, bright maiolica and inspired generations of ceramists who follow him to this day. This exhibition investigates Ostrom’s earliest work in stoneware and porcelain, his conceptual projects at NSCAD University, the many ways his love of gardening—and particularly rhododendrons—influenced his work, the huge impact China and its ceramic traditions and ceramists had on his life and practice, and his lifetime commitment to the exploration and reinvigoration of the ancient ceramic tradition of tin-glaze.
Good Earth examines Ostrom’s practice of altering form, surface treatments, and the rich elements of social commentary, geographic references, art history, and political statements he imbues in his work. An inspired instructor for over 40 years, Ostrom’s influence on a selection of his many celebrated students is also reflected in this exhibition.
Ostrom is celebrated internationally with galleries dedicated to the collection and presentation of his work in Canada, the United States, Europe and China. This bilingual touring exhibition is the first major retrospective to chronicle Ostrom’s career and impact on the field of global ceramics.
Organized and circulated by
the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia
Capacity for Wonder: Meghan Sims
September 25, 2021 to December 31, 2021
As light bends and reflects through glass, dazzling sights and experiences can appear. While glass art often emphasizes form and striking colours, Meghan Sims takes a different approach, using the interactions between glass and light to share her unique way of seeing the world around us. Born with Achromatopsia, a rare visual condition, Sims is colourblind, near-sighted, and extremely light sensitive. In her installation, Capacity for Wonder, Meghan Sims explores the concepts of perception, light, and shadow that have inspired her unique artistic style.
While light often enables us to see, for those with Achromatopsia, light washes out vision and destroys all detail. This prevents Sims from working as most glass blowers do, instead using mirrors and dark, red-tinted filters to watch the glass in the furnace. Unable to clearly see her piece, Sims relies on a sense of feel and weight-distribution of the glass on the pipe as she works, adapting to meet the challenges of glassblowing with her unique vision. In these new sculptural pieces, the focus is no longer on the form itself, but on the atmosphere created through the ways in which light and glass interact. In the dimly lit gallery space, it is the magnification, refraction, and reflection of light, glass, and shadow that enables us to get a glimpse of the wonder of Meghan Sims’ world.
Avec la lumière qui reflète et traverse le verre, des vues et des expériences éblouissantes peuvent apparaître. Alors que l’art du verre met souvent l’emphase sur la forme et les couleurs frappantes, Meghan Sims prend une approche différente, utilisant les interactions entre le verre et la lumière pour partager sa façon unique de voir le monde autour de nous. Née avec une condition visuelle rare, l’achromatopsie, Sims est daltonienne, myope et extrêmement sensible à la lumière. Avec son installation, La capacité d’émerveillement, Meghan Sims explore les concepts de perception, de lumière, et d’ombre qui ont inspiré son style artistique unique.
Alors qu’habituellement la lumière nous permet de voir mieux, pour ceux qui souffre d’achromatopsie la lumière blanchit la vision et efface tous les détails. Ceci empêche Sims de travailler comme la majorité des souffleurs de verre le font. Elle utilise des miroirs et des filtres rouge foncé pour regarder le verre dans la fournaise. Incapable de voir ses pièces, Sims se fit à la sensation et à la distribution du poids du verre sur sa canne alors qu’elle souffle, adaptant son unique vision aux défis du soufflage de verre. Dans ces nouvelles sculptures, l’accent n’est plus sur la forme même, mais plutôt sur l’atmosphère créée par les manières dont la lumière et le verre interagissent. Dans la galerie faiblement éclairée, c’est le grossissement, la réfraction, et la réflexion de la lumière, du verre, et des ombres qui nous donnent un aperçu des merveilles du monde de Meghan Sims.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and The C3 Group of Companies.
The artist gratefully acknowledges the support of the Region of Waterloo Arts Fund
In Relation
September 25, 2021 to January 9, 2022
Candice Boese & Nadira Narine
Curated by Kat Looby
In Relation is an exploration of the people and situations that give us a sense of family. Family can come down to the moments we spend with the ones we love, whether we are related or not. Connection to those around us is what grounds us and helps give us a sense of who we are. It is the place where we hold each other’s hearts.
The artists, Candice Boese and Nadira Narine, are coming at the topic from the sense of comfort and that of loss. But whether through loss or peace, the memory of family ties these two artists, and us the viewers, together into something bigger.
Green Living: Becky Lauzon
July 17 to October 10, 2021
As our urban environments grow and become increasingly dense, it is becoming more and more clear that there are not enough accessible green spaces. Particularly over the past 18 months with the spread of COVID-19 and limitations on indoor gatherings, many have struggled to find outdoor spaces to enjoy and gather, especially within lower-income communities. Becky Lauzon’s Green Living installation is composed of hand-blown and engraved glass cones planted with a range of grasses and wildflowers arranged on found materials. Together, it offers a juxtaposition of our natural and urban environments. For Lauzon, the lack of green space in our communities is detrimental to both our mental and physical health, while harming the natural ecology of our environment.
Over the course of the installation, the plants will grow in the cones, rising above their rims and reaching into the space, naturalizing the courtyard environment and blooming to offer nectar for pollinators. Through their cone shape, the glass vessels will act as their own ecosystems, using condensation and the small opening at the top to regulate their own environments. The engravings on the vessels, bustling city skylines without any break in their overwhelming repetition, will be overcome by the green stalks and leaves growing inside, eventually filling the space and fighting for our attention.
Alors que nos environnements urbains s’élargissent et deviennent de plus en plus dense, il devient de plus en plus évident qu’il n’y a pas suffisamment d’espaces verts. En particulier au cours des 18 derniers mois, avec la pandémie et les limites imposées sur les rassemblements intérieurs, beaucoup ont eu du mal à trouver des espaces extérieurs pour flâner et se rassembler, particulièrement dans les communautés à faible revenu. L’installation Écoresponsable de Becky Lauzon se compose de cônes de verre soufflé, gravés, et disposées sur des matériaux trouvés, dans lesquels sont plantés des herbes et des fleurs sauvages. Pour Lauzon, le manque d’espaces verts dans nos communautés nuit à notre santé mentale et physique, tout en nuisant à l’écologie naturelle de notre environnement.
Au cours de l’installation, les plantes vont poussées dans les cônes, s’élevant au-delà du rebord pour naturaliser l’environnement de la cour intérieure, et fleurissant pour offrir du nectar aux pollinisateurs. La forme des cônes en verre agira en tant qu’écosystème, utilisant la condensation pour arroser les plantes, et la petite ouverture pour régulariser leurs propres environnements. Les gravures sur les cônes de verre –des horizons urbains animés et sans interruption dans leur répétition écrasante –seront recouvertes par les branches verdoyantes venant de l’intérieur, pour éventuellement remplir l’espace et lutter pour notre attention.
Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Façade Systems
July 14 to September 15, 2021
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa, Isabel Ochoa and James Clarke-Hicks
Participants: Ali Khaja, Carlo Rosel, Carrie Perreault, Sarah Miri, Fatima Jahanmiri, Manav Kelawala, James Clarke-Hicks, Isabel Ochoa, Ye Sul E. Cho, Ji Shi, Meghan Taylor, and David Correa
University of Waterloo Architecture students test how building facades of the future can be 3D printed with clay. Inspired by nature, ancient architectural traditions and new technology, the students develop new methods and processes that re-envision the clay masonry unit.
Working with a state-of-the-art large-volume clay extrusion 3D printer, Assistant Professor David Correa’s students set out to explore how this highly used building material can be re-envisioned for the future. This fabrication tool allows for an unprecedented level of design freedom when compared with conventional brick-making methods, while still engaging the material properties and characteristics of traditional clay. The exhibition includes 3 different project types: Student Investigation, Graduate Thesis Research, and a Research Partnership Commission.
Special thanks to: Andrew Payne, Conroy Murray, Dean Garbutt, Joanne Chan, Bruce Freeman, Heinz Koller, Michael Syms, Anne Bordeleau, Emily Stafford, Erika Gorski and Denis Longchamps.
This exhibition is made possible by Masonry Works Council of Ontario in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo and The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
Garden of the Gods: Nikola Wojewoda
February 23 to September 5, 2021
In Garden of the Gods, Nikola Wojewoda takes us on a botanical journey into the world of powerful hallucinogens. Her decorative plates pay tribute to the ancient use of these sacred plants. Their psychoactive properties transport the mind into altered states of consciousness, where transformative encounters with the Divine provide insights into the nature of reality and the self. Wojewoda’s interests lie in considering how these prehistoric experiences have shaped religious and philosophical thought, and the understanding of our complex human nature. Her paper collages are of gods, some virtuous and some not, that we may encounter in hallucinogenic trance.
Dans cette exposition, Nikola Wojewoda nous fait visiter Le jardin des dieux, un monde botanique empli de plantes hallucinogènes. Sa série d’assiettes décoratives veut ainsi rendre hommage à l’usage ancien de ces plantes sacrées dont les effets psychoactifs altèrent les états de conscience, induisent des rencontres révélatrices avec le Divin et permettent d’entrevoir d’autres facettes de la réalité et du moi. Wojewoda s’intéresse aux expériences anciennes qui ont façonné la pensée philosophique et religieuse ainsi que la compréhension d’une nature humaine complexe. Les dieux du jardin, grands visiteurs des transes hallucinogènes, parfois vertueux, parfois non, se matérialisent ici dans des collages en papier.
Nature Inspired
From the Permanent Collection with Guest Artist Ann Cummings
February 23 to May 9, 2021
A flower opening in the morning sun. A rainstorm darkening the sky. Dead trees covered with mushrooms and moss. The changing colours of the sea, and of the seasons. The natural world has long been a source of inspiration for artists who perceive and render it as a metaphor or symbol, poetically or realistically.
The exhibition Natured Inspired presents such works found in our permanent collection. Clay, glass and copper enamel artists shown here offer their interpretation of the natural world, its botanical specimens and its landscapes – in sculptures, two-dimensional pieces and functional wares.
Une fleur qui s’ouvre sous le soleil du matin. Un orage qui assombrit le ciel. Des arbres morts couverts de mousses et de champignons. La couleur changeante de la mer et celles des saisons. Le monde naturel est depuis longtemps une source d’inspiration pour les artistes qui la perçoivent et la rendent comme une métaphore, comme un symbole, poétiquement ou de façon réaliste.
L’exposition Inspiré de la Nature présente de telles œuvres choisies parmi notre collection permanente. Des artistes de l’argile, du verre et du cuivre émaillé nous offrent leur interprétation du monde naturel, allant du motif botanique au paysage grandiose, en sculptures, images bidimensionnelles et pièces fonctionnelles.
A Digital Version of Nature Inspired is available by clicking here.
Marooned: Morgan Kamocki Allaby
February 23 to May 9, 2021
Loving embraces, passionate affection, and erotic tension; Morgan Kamocki Allaby brings all of these to the sculptures in his latest series of work. Through pairs of nude male figures set within a limited landscape, Kamocki Allaby pushes the boundaries of nudity in art through an exploration of queer affection and sexuality. In loving embraces and poses of homoerotic domination and submission, the figures in his new work bring queer relationships to the forefront in an affirmation of queer intimacy. Through this series, Kamocki Allaby counters heteronormative narratives of relationships and the frequent dismissal of queer relationships within culture and society.
While the figures’ faces convey human emotion, they appear as a hybrid of human and animal features in a somewhat unsettling appearance that draws us in. As we delve deeper into the works, we are drawn into the scenes and the quiet moments shared between the figures revealing their affection, intimacy, and sexuality. These are scenes that challenge us, but that encourage us to experience the physical and emotional feelings on display in a powerful statement of queerness and sexuality.
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and The C3 Group of Companies.
Enlacements amoureux, affection passionnée, et tension érotique : Morgan Kamocki Allaby superpose tout ça dans sa plus récente série de sculptures. Avec des couples de figures mâles nues dans des paysages restreints, il pousse les limites de la nudité en art dans une exploration de la sexualité et de l’affection queer. Dans des enlacements amoureux et des poses homoérotiques de domination et de soumission, les figures mettent de l’avant les relations queer dans une affirmation de son intimité. Avec cette série, Kamocki Allaby va à l’encontre de la narration des relations hétéronormatives et le rejet fréquent des relations queer dans la culture et la société.
Bien que les visages d’apparence troublante transmettent des émotions humaines, ils sont des hybrides entre des caractéristiques humaines et animales qui nous attirent. Nous sommes entraînés dans des scènes où les figures partagent des moments intimes, nous découvrons leur affection et leur sexualité. Ces scènes nous défient, mais nous encouragent aussi à découvrir les sentiments physiques et émotionnels présentés dans une déclaration puissante de queerness et de sexualité.
Cette exposition est présentée dans le cadre de la Série des talents émergents et est supportée généreusement par The Musagetes Fund de la Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation et The C3 Group of Companies.
On Collecting: Depression Glass
March 20 to May 8, 2021
As part of the ongoing series On Collecting, we are presenting a collection of two dinnerware sets, complete with serving trays and bowls as well as two bar sets, manufactured between the 1920s and the 1950s. Production of these pieces started during the Great Depression, giving them the moniker by which they are known to collectors and aficionados today: depression glass. These pieces were relatively inexpensive to produce and were frequently offered as promotional items in cereal and laundry detergent boxes or at service gas stations and movie theatres. It was an easy way to retain loyal customers and have them come back often during the difficult time of the depression. Consumers who had been hard hit by the Great Depression took advantage of these promotions to assemble complete dining sets while using products that were necessary to their day-to-day lives.
January 14 to March 15, 2021
In February 2020 we launched a new outreach program to connect with our communities. On invitation, various groups come to the gallery and communicate a lived experience through a free workshop in clay. The lived experience is based on themes discussed with the leaders and the participants of each community group. The work created is then presented to the community at large with an exhibition and a publication. The second community group we invited was Thresholds Homes and Supports. We thank John and Rebecca Short for their support of this program. We do hope that this program will not only allow us to strengthen the existing bonds between our gallery and community partners we already have, but also new ones and allow for new friendships to be forged between the participants.
Click here to view the digital exhibition.
A Place at Your Table
November 14, 2020 to March 15, 2021
A Place at Your Table explores artistic expression in ceramics, glass, and enamel, with particular regard to tableware. The function of household objects has expanded from serving a utilitarian purpose to pieces with aesthetic values. Often, the lines between function and art can easily be blurred. While serving either function, aesthetics, or both, tableware can transform the mundane into a memorable experience.
In Concert
Thomas Aitken & Kate Hyde; Laura Donefer & Jeff Mack; Cédric Ginart & Karina Guevin; Maureen Marcotte, David McKenzie & Annie McKenzie; Patrick Primeau & Caroline Ouellette; Soffi Studio; Richard Surette, Susan Surette & Akycha Surette
September 26 to December 26, 2020
The exhibition In Concert presents works by artists sharing a studio, permanently or occasionally. They might work independently or collaboratively, sharing their space and their passion for clay or glass. The seven teams we are showcasing are families, couples, partners, friends or employers and employees.
The Surettes, Richard and Susan and their daughter Akycha share a family ceramic studio but have independent work practices as do ceramic artists Maureen Marcotte, her spouse David MacKenzie and their daughter Annie. Life partners and ceramists Thomas Aitken and Kate Hyde, glass artists Caroline Ouellette and Patrick Primeau and, also working with glass, Karina Guévin and Cédric Ginart, share their respective studios, working sometimes collaboratively while pursuing independent projects. Glass artists and friends Laura Donefer and Jeff Mack shared a studio briefly during the completion of a few special collaborative projects. Soffi Studio is composed of husband and wife team, Kris Gene and Eva Milinkovic and their employees Robert O’Dell and Amy Raganit.
They all work In Concert to produce a symphony of works that delight and fascinate, intrigue, and invite to contemplation.
An Exhibition Catalogue is available in the Gallery Shop or the Shop Online. Click here to purchase.
L’exposition De concert s’intéresse à ces artistes qui partagent un atelier, en permanence ou le temps d’un projet. Ils y travaillent indépendamment ou en collaboration, partageant leur espace et leur passion pour l’argile ou le verre. Les sept groupes que nous présentons sont des familles, des couples, des partenaires, des amis ou des employeurs et employés.
Les Surettes, Richard et Susan ainsi que leur fille Akycha, partagent un atelier de céramique mais ont chacun leur pratique individuelle. Il en va de même pour les céramistes Maureen Marcotte, son conjoint David MacKenzie et leur fille Annie. Les céramistes Thomas Aitken et Kate Hyde, les artistes verriers Caroline Ouellette et Patrick Primeau, de même que Karina Guévin et Cédric Ginart travaillent aussi en atelier partagé, parfois en collaboration, parfois en poursuivant leur carrière respective. Quant aux amis Laura Donefer et Jeff Mack, ils ont quelquefois partagé un atelier de verre le temps d’une collaboration. Finalement, Soffi Studio est composé des époux Kris Gene et Eva Milinkovic et de leurs employés Robert O’Dell et Amy Raganit.
Ils travaillent tous De concert pour produire une symphonie d’œuvres qui émerveillent et fascinent, intriguent, et invitent à la contemplation.
Goyer Bonneau: From Pencil to Prototype to Porcelain
September 19 to December 26, 2020
To mark the 50th career anniversary of ceramic artists and designers Goyer Bonneau, the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery presents From Pencil to Prototype to Porcelain. The husband and wife team Denise Goyer and Alain Bonneau have worked together since 1970 in a studio located in the basement of their home, while raising a family. This exhibition showcases some of their best pieces, from a 50-year production that redefined tableware into sculptural pieces while retaining its function and ergonomic qualities through thoughtful design.
From an idea inspired by life such as a birth, an event or a passion to the sketches and technical drawings, then to the prototypes and mother molds and the final porcelain pieces, the exhibition illustrates the creative process behind these porcelain pieces that are collected worldwide.
Pour souligner les 50 ans de carrière des céramistes et designers Goyer Bonneau, le Musée canadien de l’argile et du verre présente De l’esquisse au prototype à la porcelaine. Les époux Denise Goyer et Alain Bonneau travaillent ensemble depuis 1970 dans un atelier installé au sous-sol de la résidence où ils ont également fondé une famille. Cette exposition présente un échantillonnage de leur production, qui s’étale sur 50 ans et qui a transformé la vaisselle en pièces sculpturales dont le design réfléchi réussit à conserver la fonction et les qualités ergonomiques nécessaires.
Partant d’une idée inspirée de la vie comme une naissance, d’un événement ou d’une passion, passant par les esquisses et les dessins techniques, les prototypes et les matrices jusqu’au produit final de porcelaine, l’exposition illustre le processus créatif derrière ces pièces de porcelaine qui sont collectionnées à travers le monde.
swim with me: Marissa Alexander
September 26 to December 26, 2020
In the waters of her memories, Marissa Alexander finds calmness and an acceptance of change that bears a physical form in her most recent body of work, swim with me. Intensely decorated, these coil-built forms flow in three dimensions; expanding and contracting as figures and patterns spread around the vessels without beginning or end. Through the uncertainty and constant change of this time, she is drawn to the large bodies of water where she used to swim. Floating, gliding through the water, brings a sense of calm and an understanding that like water, our world is ever changing, requiring resilience and adaptability.
In building her coil pots, Marissa builds memory and narrative that flow around her forms. Decorating in bold colours and patterns, her works demonstrate her design sense in the bathing suits, patterning, and hair styles that bring the vessels to life and reflect her love of beauty and fashion. Working around each vessel, Marissa bridges the history of ceramics with her own vision, as she states, “vision as something of great beauty – vision as envisioning contemporary life.”
This exhibition is presented as part of the Emerging Talent Series and is generously supported by The Musagetes Fund held at Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation and The C3 Group of Companies.
Dans les eaux de ses souvenirs, Marissa Alexander trouve le calme et l’acceptation des changements et les matérialise dans sa plus récente série d’œuvres, nage avec moi. Abondamment décorées, ces formes construites au colombin coulent en trois dimensions; s’étirant et se contractant en figures et motifs couvrant les contenants sans début et sans fin. À travers les incertitudes et les changements constants de notre temps, elle est attirée par les grandes surfaces d’eau où elle allait nagée. Flotter, glisser sur l’eau, amène une tranquillité et une compréhension de notre monde, qui comme l’eau, est en changement constant, exigeant résilience et adaptation.
En construisant ses vases au colombin, Marissa élabore une mémoire et une narration qui coule autour de ses formes. Décorées avec des couleurs vives et des motifs audacieux, son œuvre démontre un sens du design dans les maillots de bain, et les styles de chevelure qui donne vie aux contenants et reflète son amour du beau et de la mode. Travaillant autour de chaque vase, Marissa relie l’histoire de la céramique avec sa propre vision, qu’elle qualifie de « vision de grande beauté – une vision de la vie contemporaine. »
Cette exposition, de la série des Talents Émergents, est présentée grâce au soutien généreux de Kitchener Waterloo Community Foundation Musagetes Fund et The C3 Group of Companies.
Sharing Experiences: Focus for Ethnic Women
July 7, 2020 to August 2020
In February 2020 we launched a new outreach program to connect with our communities. On invitation, various groups come to the gallery and communicate a lived experience through a free workshop in clay. The lived experience is based on themes discussed with the leaders and the participants of each community group. The work created is then presented to the community at large with an exhibition and a publication. The first community group we invited was Focus for Ethnic Women, and their exhibition was planned to open April 6, 2020.
Unfortunately, Covid-19 forced us to adapt to new realities. We are pleased to present their exhibition, Sharing Experiences, online and now on display in our lobby. We thank John and Rebecca Short for their support of this program. We do hope that this program will not only allow us to strengthen the existing bonds between our gallery and community partners we already have, but also new ones and allow for new friendships to be forged between the participants.
Click here to view a digital version of the exhibition.
From the Collection:
July 27 to October 15, 2020
Blackburn & Ostermann
Featuring works from the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery Permanent Collection as well as works from a private collection, this Lobby Exhibition brings together ceramics by Quebec ceramists Jeannot Blackburn and Matthias Ostermann.
Recognized as an important queer Quebec ceramist, Jeannot Blackburn died prematurely in 1996 due to AIDS-related complications. He is known for his emphasis on the human form and campy extravagance, bringing political and social issues to the forefront in subtle—and not so subtle—ways through his work. With extravagant colours and patterns as well as whimsical forms, the exuberance of his work immediately attracts attention.
Matthias Ostermann’s colourful, playful and dynamic works are instantly identifiable by their figurative decoration and sgraffito technique. Frequently depicting male and female figures as well as animal and hybrid forms such as mermaids and mermen, his works border between the playful and sexual, particularly in the context of the beginnings of the gay liberation movement of the 1980s and 90s.
Ardmore Ceramics
Featuring African ceramic works from our permanent collection, these pieces are largely made by artists at Ardmore Ceramics, a studio founded in 1985 in South Africa. Ardmore has gained international attention in the years since, growing to include many artists, international exhibitions, design partnerships, and a fund to support their artists living with HIV/AIDS.
Public Art in Glass
Warren Carther, Sarah Hall, Robert Jekyll, Michèle Lapointe
January 11 to September 20, 2020
This exhibition is also presented online. Click here to view the digital exhibition!
Art has been used in the public sphere for centuries to embellish, to commemorate people and events of historical importance, to educate, to assert power. Today, public art often focuses on local community values where it transforms the surrounding landscape to highlight issues and questions of the moment. The art of stained glass developed rapidly during the Middle Ages, mostly by illustrating biblical scenes in European churches and cathedrals. Eventually, stained glass windows were also used in secular buildings. To this day, the art of stained glass is used in public buildings of all kinds. In the past, most standalone monuments and sculptures were of stone, marble, concrete or metal. With the development of new techniques and technology, glass can be used in sculptural form to create statement pieces that play on strength and fragility, transparency and lightness; qualities unique to glass.
L’art est présent sur la place publique depuis des siècles pour embellir, pour commémorer des individus et des événements d’importance historique, pour éduquer, pour affirmer le pouvoir. Aujourd’hui, l’art public se veut souvent un reflet des valeurs communautaires locales : il s’affiche dans le paysage avoisinant pour souligner des questions d’actualité. L’art du vitrail s’est d‘abord développé dans les églises et cathédrales de l’Europe médiévale, pour illustrer des passages de la Bible et instruire les fidèles. Éventuellement, l’art du vitrail s’est répandu dans des bâtiments publics de toutes sortes. Pour les monuments et sculptures, dans le passé, on utilisait surtout la pierre, le marbre, le ciment et le métal. Avec le développement de nouvelles techniques et d’avancées technologiques, le verre prend maintenant des formes sculpturales permettant de créer des œuvres magistrales qui jouent sur sa force et sa fragilité, sa transparence et sa légèreté, des qualités uniques au verre.
A catalogue for this exhibition is available in the Gift Shop or online.
Breaking the Mold: Amee Raval
July 2 to September 20, 2020
In the nostalgia and mystique of cultural identity, Amee Raval introduces feminist, progressive ideals to her Hindu, Indian heritage. Through traditional temple architectural forms that have been reproduced and altered in lead crystal and clear glass, she balances a respect and acknowledgement of tradition with new opportunities and ways of living for women. Goddesses, Rangoli mandala forms, and decorative panels provide an avenue through which she breaks the mold of patriarchy that defines her heritage and seeks to elaborate on accepted norms that are forced upon women.
Through kiln-formed glass, Raval alters the traditional mediums, forms, and genders of temple architecture in creative and striking juxtapositions of heritage and progress. While maintaining the core elements that she holds dear, her modifications bring older generations together with young, progressive women. It is in the subtle alterations from traditions that we find something special, a hope for new opportunities and ideals.
A digital version of this exhibition can be viewed by clicking here.
Dans la nostalgie et la mystique de l’identité culturelle, Amee Raval inclue des idéaux féministes et progressistes à son héritage hindou. Elle utilise et reproduit des formes architecturales traditionnelles de temples qu’elle modifie puis coule en cristal et en verre. Elle allie ainsi un respect et une reconnaissance de la tradition avec de nouvelles opportunités et de nouveaux modes de vie pour les femmes. Les déesses, les formes du mandala Rangoli, et les panneaux décoratifs fournissent une avenue avec laquelle elle brise le moule de la patriarchie qui définit son héritage et lui offre une opportunité d’élargir les normes acceptées qui sont forcées sur les femmes.
Raval modifie la forme, le genre et les matériaux de certains éléments architecturaux que l’on retrouve dans les temples hindous, pour créer avec le thermoformage du verre, des juxtapositions créatives et percutantes alliant héritage et progrès. Tout en maintenant les éléments fondamentaux qui lui sont chers, ses altérations permettent de réunir les jeunes générations progressives avec celles des plus âgées. C’est avec ces modifications subtiles de la tradition que nous trouvons quelque chose de spécial, un espoir pour de nouvelles opportunités et de nouveaux idéaux.
This exhibition is presented as an installment in the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery’s Emerging Talent Series, which provides a space for emerging artists, curators, and writers, presented in the Mutual Group Tower Gallery. This series is generously supported by:
On Collecting Clay and Glass
Mid-December 2019 to September 13, 2020
Most of the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery’s acquisitions are received as donations either from artists directly, or from corporate and private collections. On Collecting Clay and Glass presents four private collections to show a small sample of the diversity that these mediums offer. It includes works from the visual arts, craft, design and the decorative arts. Collecting can take many forms based on one’s personal taste and interest. For that reason, private collections are often more varied and will include, apart from clay and glass objects, paintings, textiles and furniture, prints, drawings and sculptures. For this exhibition, we selected a variety of pieces from two collections, and focused on a specific object for the other two, illustrating some of the possibilities of the intellectual and aesthetic pursuits of their owners.
A catalogue for this exhibition is available in the Gift Shop or online.
Rocks in My Head: Carol Rossman
January 11 to April 2020
Working in raku, one of ceramics’ most unpredictable mediums, Carol Rossman’s scientific method and carefully planned designs bring life and natural forms to the vessels and sculptures that she creates. Rossman is influenced by the American Southwest landscapes of Arizona, Utah, and New Mexico where she rides trails each year. In her recent works, she captures the colours, textures, and emotions of these unique vistas that include flowing canyons and rock formations, crackling desert earth, and native flora.
Rossman has been a ceramist for more than forty years. Influenced by her previous career as a medical researcher through the intense planning and experimentation of her technique, Rossman has mastered the art of raku in a way that few artists have. And yet, the unpredictability of the unique firing process of this medium can present surprising results at every turn, creating a sublime beauty and uncertainty that itself mimics the natural and unconquerable aspects of the landscapes that are her passion and inspiration.
Travaillant avec le raku, l’une des techniques les plus imprévisibles en céramique, la méthode scientifique et le décor soigneusement planifié de Carol Rossman donnent vie et formes naturelles aux vaisseaux et sculptures qu’elle crée. Rossman est influencée par le paysage du sud-ouest américain de l’Arizona, l’Utah, et du Nouveau Mexique où elle parcourt les sentiers à cheval annuellement. Dans son travail récent, elle capture les couleurs, les textures et les émotions de ces paysages uniques incluant les formations rocheuses et les canyons, la terre craquante du désert et la flore locale.
Rossman est une céramiste depuis plus de 40 ans. Influencée par sa carrière précédente de chercheure médicale à travers l’intense planification et expérimentation de sa technique, Rossman a maîtrisée la technique du raku d’unique façon. Et pourtant, l’imprévisibilité de cette unique façon de cuire le médium peut présenter des résultats uniques à chaque fois, créant une beauté sublime et une incertitude qui imite l’aspect naturel et invincible du paysage qui sont son inspiration et sa passion.
This is the second instalment in the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery’s Emerging Talent Series, which provides a space for emerging artists, curators, and writers, presented in the Mutual Group Tower Gallery. This series is generously supported by:
Material Syntax: 3D Printed Masonry Façade Systems
January 11 to April 2020
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa and Yesul Elly Cho
University of Waterloo Architecture students test how building facades of the future can be 3D printed with clay. Inspired by nature, ancient architectural traditions and new technology, the students develop new methods and processes that re-envision the clay masonry unit.
Working with a state-of-the-art large-volume clay extrusion 3D printer, Assistant Professor David Correa’s students set out to explore how this highly used building material can be re-envisioned for the future. This fabrication tool allows for an unprecedented level of design freedom when compared with conventional brick-making methods, while still engaging the material properties and characteristics of traditional clay.
The result is a series of 7 prototypes that test the new architectural qualities of 3D printed facades, where each clay brick can be unique. The projects include a wide range of playful wall systems, ornamental and light-modulating cladding systems, as well as rainscreen and solar-shading facades.
Participants: [Salman Rauf, Julie Niu, Kevin Kunnappilly], [Nathanael Scheffler, Kelsey Dawson, Mia Milanovic], [Prateek Wason, Nupur Garg, Camilla Vespa], [Jade Manbodh, Nima Karami, Ethan Schwartz], [Isabel Kim, Yi Ming Wu, Andrew Kenny], [James Clarke-Hicks, Isabel Ochoa, Zaven Titizian], [Emma Moseley, Kelley Gu].
Special thanks to: Andrew Payne, Conroy Murray, Judy Pryma, Denis Longchamps, Elsa Brittin, Kristin Schreiner, Heinz Koller, Michael Syms, Anne Bordeleau, Emily Stafford, Jessica Steinhauser, Rose Mary Aicher, Ye Sull Elly Cho, Jim Shi, Geoff Farrow.
This exhibition is made possible by Masonry Ontario in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo and The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery.
From the Collection: A Bestiary
September 21, 2019 to January 5, 2020
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is pleased to present works from its collection as part of A Bestiary. From the beginning of time, the animal world has found its way into the art of humankind in various ways. Animals, fish and birds are, for some, the embodiment of deities; for others they act as metaphors for life experiences. In this exhibition, we look at ceramic, glass and enamel artists who explore the animal world metaphorically, symbolically, with humour and with technical mastery to highlight human concerns and emotions.
The exhibition includes works by: Ardmore Ceramic Art (South Africa), Rick Ayotte, Baccarat (France), Harold Balazs, Roman Bartkiw, Ann Beam, Carl Beam, Florence Chik-Lau, Daniel Crichton, Ed Drahanchuk, Joe Fafard, David Gilhooly, Jim Hong Louie, Věra Lišková, Janet Macpherson, Leo Mol, Joni Moriyama, Julie Oakes, Orient and Flume Studio (USA), Matthias Ostermann, Perthshire (Scotland), Ann Roberts, Michael Robinson, Ed Roman, Maurice Savoie, Jamie Sherman, Nick Sikkuark, Natalie Silverstein, Steve Smith, Leigh Smith, Paul Stankard, Tim Storey, Jack Sures, Joan Van Damme, Wendy Walgate and Ruth Welsh.
A catalogue for this exhibition is available in the Gallery Gift Shop.
Emerging Talent Series
Featuring a partnership between emerging artist Shawna Redskye and emerging curator Chloe Blair.
A Remembering: star stories and waterbodies
September 21, 2019 to January 5, 2020
A Remembering: star stories and waterbodies, represents a creative partnership between artist Shawna Redskye and curator Chloe Blair.
“The exhibition will focus on the experiences of displacement, colonization and navigation that are shared by so many. As we continue to face displacement from our ancestral lands, it is our water bodies, our languages, our food systems, and the stars that continue to hold the sacred role of navigation.
There are many forms of displacement; geographical, cultural, spiritual. Ongoing colonial violence is just that; active displacement of ourselves from our ancestral lands, our bodies, our ways of knowing. All of which are explored in this body of work.
Our vessels are inherently connected to the stars and water. It is the stories held in the stars that have long guided our ancestors; informing movement, planting, prayer. Our waterbodies are our vessels; reliant on water for breath, for life.
Resonance is an act of remembering.”
The Gallery inaugurates a new series of exhibitions that will showcase emerging artists, curators or writers. The Emerging Talent Series, presented in the Mutual Group Tower Gallery, is generously supported by:
2019 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics
September 21 to November 17, 2019
The 2019 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics Winner, Nurielle Stern of Toronto, Ontario, is celebrated in this exhibition alongside finalists Trevor Baird (Montreal, QC), Naomi Clement (London, ON), Grace Han (Winnipeg, MB), Joon Hee Kim (Oakville, ON), Jocelyn Reid (Calgary, AB) and Zane Wilcox (Regina, SK).
The 2019 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics was juried by Pascale Girardin, Michele Hardy and Rory MacDonald. The jury would like to acknowledge a very competitive field of emerging ceramic artists who applied. The jury is unanimous in selecting Nurielle Stern as the recipient of this year’s award. In her work, Stern demonstrates a combination of daring, rich investigation of narrative and subject matter and a mastery of her craft. The jury was impressed with the quality of her strong exhibition production combining work of installation and display as well as the strength of her proposed award project. As part of her project, Stern will produce large-scale ceramic sculptures for exhibition, beginning with her participation in a residency at the California State University Long Beach Center for Contemporary Ceramics.
For more information about the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics, its sponsor, and previous winners, click here.
About the Winner
Nurielle Stern is a ceramic sculpture and installation artist and a graduate of Alfred University’s renowned MFA program in Ceramic Art (2014). She has also studied ceramics at Sheridan College and holds a BFA in Sculpture and Installation from OCAD University. Stern’s most recent exhibition, Unswept Floor (Tesserae), was commissioned by the Gardiner Museum in response to Ai Weiwei: Unbroken. Her first collaborative exhibition with artist Nicholas Crombach, entitled Whale Fall, opened at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery for the summer of 2019. Stern’s upcoming exhibition includes a large-scale commission for Gardiner Museum’s new Joan Courtois Gallery to be installed this coming fall.
About the Finalists
Trevor Baird b.1990 lives and works in Montreal, Quebec. He holds a BFA from Concordia University and has been exhibited in Mexico, Canada, and The United States, most recently at the Eli and Edythe Broad Museum, Lansing; The Hole, New York; Arsenal Contemporary, Toronto and Projet Pangée, Montreal. He has attended residencies at the Banff Centre and the Rozynski Arts Centre and is featured in print in The Editorial Magazine, FREAKER UNLTD 1-3, and others.
Naomi Clement is an artist and educator who explores ideas of home and belonging through the powerful lens of functional ceramics. She received her MFA from Louisiana State University in 2017, and has participated in residencies, given lectures and workshops, and exhibited her work across North America. Naomi was named a 2017 Emerging Artist by Ceramics Monthly magazine, and her work was featured on the cover of the September 2018 issue of the magazine.
Grace Han is a ceramic artist originally trained in Seoul, South Korea. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Dankook University where she specialized in traditional Korean Ceramic techniques and skills. She immigrated to Canada in 2011 and received her Master of Fine Arts from University of Manitoba. Now she is pursuing her career as a ceramic artist in Canada, her new home.
Joon Hee Kim is a Canadian artist originally from Seoul, Korea. She studied design and patisserie, before becoming intrigued with ceramics at Sheridan College, extending to metal during her MA of Fine art in the UK. Her professional practice was also taken to Europe and Japan. Brimming with personal anecdotes and engaging narratives, her work has been exhibited in Canada, USA, and UK. Her latest solo exhibition took place at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery during the summer of 2019.
Jocelyn Reid is an artist from Calgary, Alberta. Reid received her Bachelor’s Degree from the Alberta College of Art + Design in 2013, and has since exhibited her work widely. Reid was the recipient of the 2015 Queen’s Golden Jubilee Scholarship, and has participated in residencies at the Archie Bray Foundation, The Banff Centre, and Guldagergaard, as well as at several other programs. Reid is the Ceramics Technician at AUArts, and currently lives and works in Calgary.
Zane Wilcox received an MFA from the University of Regina and a BMus from the University of British Columbia. He has received numerous awards including the Outstanding Student Achievement in Contemporary Sculpture Award from the International Sculpture Center. Zane’s work has been exhibited across Canada and in the United States and Australia, and is featured in public collections including the MacKenzie Art Gallery and Global Affairs Canada. Outside of the studio, he is active in roles such as juror, visiting artist, workshop presenter and teacher.
The Eye of the Beholder
June 1 to September 29, 2019
The Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of the ceramic work of artist Joon Hee Kim in the John A. Pollock Family Courtyard.
It is said that the human body is a living vessel. Joon Hee Kim’s work consists of sculptural ceramics that reflect her interpretation of the human form as a vessel. Her work moves the ordinary into symbolic archetype, reconciling tradition from her culture to become a measure of human experience. She tackles the idea of beauty and joy by juxtaposing classical art and historical heritage with contemporary concerns. She thus creates multiple viewpoints within a global context.
Joon Hee Kim is a Canadian artist originally from Seoul, Korea. She studied Design and Patisserie, then Ceramics at Sheridan College, continuing her practice at Chelsea College of Arts in London U.K., where she received the Cecil Lewis Sculpture Scholarship and an MA in Fine Arts. Her work has been exhibited in Canada, U.S.A, and the U.K.. After receiving a Canada Council for the Arts grant, she was accepted to the Shigaraki Ceramic Residency in Japan. She had her first solo exhibition at the Art Gallery of Burlington in the summer of 2018. Joon Hee recently completed a residency at the Center for Ceramics, Zentrum für Keramik, in Berlin, Germany this year.
A catalogue accompanying this exhibition is available for purchase in the Gallery Shop or Online.
The artist acknowledges the support of the Canada Council for the Arts.
From the Collection: Celebrating National Indigenous Peoples Day
June 19 to September 8, 2019
Ann Beam, Anong Migwans Beam, Carl Beam, Michael Robinson, Nick Sikkuark, Darlene Smith, Leigh Smith, Steve Smith
The Gallery is pleased to present a selection of works by Indigenous artists from the collection. The exhibition opened on June 19 in time to celebrate National Indigenous Peoples Day on June 21.
Whale Fall
Nurielle Stern & Nicholas Crombach
July 2 to September 8, 2019
In this collaborative exhibition, artists Nicholas Crombach and Nurielle Stern explore subject matter derived from the complex, problematic and often mythologized human relationship to the natural world. The centerpiece of their exhibition is Whale Fall, a large sculptural work consisting of an assemblage of furniture and added ceramic components. The work alludes to a decaying whale carcass, providing a visceral visual metaphor for accumulation, loss and the passage of time.
The artists acknowledge the support of the Ontario Arts Council.
A catalogue accompanying this exhibition is available for purchase in the Gallery Shop or Online.
En Route
Sculptural Ceramics and Glass Emerging from Manitoba
July 6 to September 8, 2019
Curated by Sheila McMath and Grace Nickel
PJ Anderson, Gayle Buzzi, Grace Han, Terry Hildebrand, Monica Mercedes Martinez, Alana MacDougall, Chris Pancoe, Mary Stankevicius, Peter Tittenberger
The works in En Route focus on contemporary sculpture, installation and performance in ceramics and glass by nine emerging artists with connections to the University of Manitoba. Curators Sheila McMath and Grace Nickel showcase the level of experimentation that is a vital part of contemporary ceramics and glass practice. Artists in this exhibition explore varied themes including identity, colonization, psychology and urbanization and how these themes are linked to ceramic and glass history.
This exhibition is in partnership with the School of Art, University of Manitoba.
Evocative: The Art of Porcelain
March 30 to June 22, 2019
Guest Curated by Jonathan Smith
Harlan House, Diane Nasr O’Young, Kayo O’Young. An extension of the exhibition features the work of Magdolene Dykstra.
When we speak of porcelain, one of the last images to come to mind is that of landscape. Especially after years of the hand crafted pot, reminiscent of Bernard Leach, one is more likely to think brown and round. But for centuries, the ceramic world was populated with objects bearing bright images of recognizable decoration that added beauty and meaning to what would otherwise be ordinary, everyday chattel. From the time of the Group of Seven, who wished to instigate a truly Canadian art, it should come as no surprise that Canadian ceramic artists would incorporate the theme of landscape – from rolling geological features to patterns of water, from wind driven rain and waves – as an inspiration for their work.
Harlan House, Diane Nasr O’Young, and Kayo O’Young each have a different take on their muse that incorporates where they live, but also personal autobiographical details that drive their visions. Harlan House, born in Vancouver but raised in Calgary, lives in an 1840‘s old stage coach inn on hard rock farmland north of Picton, Ontario. His garden and his world travels often meet in his sometimes gentle, sometimes politically pointed work. Diane Nasr O’Young and Kayo O’Young live on two acres of land snuggled up against the eastern branch of the Humber River, north of Kleinburg, Ontario. Nasr, born and raised in Trinidad, creates work that is inspired by the lush and fantastical flora and fauna of her childhood. O’Young carries with him memories of the classic sumi ink drawings of his native China with their veils of colour tinged with the dense woodlands that once surrounded his Ontario house and inspired the work of Tom Thomson.
This exhibition brings together three different visions, each one personalized, but each rooted in the places, past and present, that inspire them.
Magdolene Dykstra’s Seated Figure (2015), at first suggests a day at the beach, one hundred years ago. This figure is clothed in what appears to be a bathing costume and cap, with only her feet, hands and face exposed. The suggestion of times past, a day at the seaside when life was simpler and time spent in innocent pastimes were the norm, is the first thought that comes to mind. However, the look on the sculpture’s face, the sidelong glance, is telling. One can have an opinion on the interpretation but while the image suggests several scenarios, there is no clear conclusion.
The first glance at the work evokes a nostalgic feeling and a warmth that is seductive – it feels comfortable. Perhaps that is all that is wanted and/or needed. But a longer look questions the element of nostalgia, for nostalgia is a longing for past time or condition that cannot be recovered or perhaps never existed. While evocation and nostalgia are similar, they both are a reminder of the past, and of the two, evocation is the more powerful, as it leads to a more potent understanding of the connection between things and ideas.
The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is pleased to partner with the Art Gallery of Burlington for this exhibition.
Earthborn 2019
April 6 to June 23, 2019
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public.
This year’s juror is Bruce Cochrane. He is an internationally acclaimed ceramic artist and recently retired Professor Emeritus of Ceramics at Sheridan College, where he worked for more than 30 years. During this time, he was instrumental in developing the Ceramic Program’s reputation as one of the best in Canada. Bruce’s studies began at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and continued in Alfred, New York at the New York State College of Ceramics where he received his Masters of Fine Art. Since his graduation in 1978 Bruce has participated in over 300 exhibitions, and shares his knowledge through lectures and workshops throughout North America. His work can be found in the permanent collections of the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art in Toronto, Victoria and Albert Museum in London, England and the Canadian Museum of Civilization in Ottawa to name a few. Bruce resides in Toronto and maintains his studio practice in Grey Highlands, Ontario.
Participating artists include: Rosemary Aicher, Anne Beyers, Janette Bogart, Laurie Cowell, Visnja Cuturic, Kelsey Dawson, Judy Donaldson, Stephen Hawes, Hette Hillsdon, Jason L’Abbe, June MacDonald, Angela McKay, Marlen Moggach, Barbara Murphy, Trudy Schulz, Indira Singh, Marty Slimming, Stewart Smith, Eekta Trienekens, Vlodek Tydor, Lynn Winter.
The work of Juror Bruce Cochrane is also on view alongside the juried finalists.
Material Syntax: 3D Printed Clay
April 28 to June 8, 2019
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa and Yesul Elly Cho
Cutting edge 3D printing technology and ancient materials come together to create innovative architectural solutions. University of Waterloo graduate students from the School of Architecture were challenged to consider how clay, a material that has been used in building for thousands of years, can be used to make new and innovative building construction systems.
With both beauty and performance in mind, each group set up to explore how this highly used building material can be re-invented for the future. While employing their design skills, the students also had to learn about different types of clay, pottery, brick production and 3D printing techniques. Using a state-of-the-art large volume 3D printer and direction from Assistant Professor David Correa, the students worked in groups of three to develop their own vision of what 3DP clay can do as a building component.
The results are a series of 6 innovative wall or façade systems that explore the plasticity, elegance and architectural quality of clay. The technology allows students to modify every brick individually and can allow for much more complex geometry than would be feasible with conventional brick-making methods. The result is a wide range of installations, including an archway that can act as a sundial, a wall that whistles with the wind and an ornamental screen wall.
Exhibition coordinated by David Correa and Yesul Elly Cho
This exhibition is in partnership with the School of Architecture, University of Waterloo.
Surrender
Kanika Gupta
January 12 to March 17, 2019
In partnership with the Brain Injury Association of Waterloo-Wellington, the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery is pleased to feature the ceramic works of Toronto artist Kanika Gupta. Gupta’s experience of working with clay has mirrored her personal journey of finding her way, following a brain injury that abruptly disrupted her life.
Surrender is a uniquely accessible exhibition that encourages visitor engagement through tactile works, didactic signage in large-print, accommodations to lower heights and the opportunity to respond and make a contribution to the exhibition itself. We request that you assist us in making this a scent-free space and refrain from wearing scented clothing or perfumes.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by a contribution from:
Fireworks 2017
Organized by FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association
December 22, 2018 to March 17, 2019
Juried by Sandra Alfoldy & Ione Thorkelsson
Fireworks 2017 is a celebratory exhibition of hand-crafted works in clay and glass, organized by FUSION: The Ontario Clay and Glass Association. This exhibition stands as a testament to the vitality, originality and inventiveness of today’s practising crafts community – a tribute to those makers who have chosen clay and glass as their mode of self expression, and in some instances, their livelihood.
Participating artists: Rosemary Aicher, Ann Allen, Lindsay Anderson, Barbara Banfield, Eden Bender, Aurelia Bizouard, Alison Brannen, Keith Campbell, Erin Candela, Lisa Creskey, Christine de Takacsy, Courtney Downman, Mark Flink, Grace Han, Puck Janes, Jenny Judge, Jane Klarer-Lackey, Dianne Lee, Lauren Levine, Carol Lim, Hannun Lyn, Terrie MacDonald, Marney McDiarmid, Heidi McKenzie, Debbie McLeod, Paula Murray, Yael Novak, Cynthia O’Brien, Maja Padrov, Genevieve Patchell, Bernadette Pratt, Deanna Sakai, Debra Sloan, Bruce Taylor, Catherine Thomas, Rhonda Uppington, Layne Verbeek, Gabriela Wilson, Carol Wong, Heather Wood, Renee Woltz, Marlene Zagdanski.
FUSION thanks the following contributors and sponsors:
Gilda Goodman
Waterloo Potters’ Workshop
Derek Chung Communications
Suburbia
Pattie Chalmers, Julia Hepburn, Jennie Suddick
January 12 to March 17, 2019
Curated by Sheila McMath
Our domestic experience is defined by the details – a carefully chosen wallpaper pattern, a table set for an evening meal, a small vegetable garden in the backyard, a balcony with an amazing view, a tree-fort that is perpetually ‘under-construction’. The artists in this exhibition explore where we live and how we define a home.
With a cautious nostalgia, artist Pattie Chalmers borrows imagery from the mid 20th century to create ceramic tableaus that are simultaneously familiar and unsettling. Julia Hepburn creates small dream-like dioramas made of polymer clay and mixed media. Her works are distinctive for their strong psychological quality and elusive narratives. Remembering and re-creating the ‘magical’ spaces of childhood, like blanket and tree forts, Jennie Suddick opens up the definition of home to include communal, ‘do-it-yourself’ spaces whose distinction and power is in their impermanence.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by a contribution from:
Embodiment: 30 Years of Sculpture by Susan Low-Beer
September 23 to December 31, 2018
Co-curated by Jasmina Jovanovic and Stuart Reid, Embodiment is a 30-year retrospective of ceramic sculpture by Governor General’s Award-winning artist Susan Low-Beer. The exhibition examines more than three decades of the artist’s practice. Recurring themes include identity and mortality as well as the simultaneous power and vulnerability of the body.
Also on view is an adjoining exhibition of new works from Low-Beer’s Specimen series, curated by Sheila McMath.
Susan Low-Beer received her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree at Mount Allison University and her Masters of Fine Arts in the United States at the Cranbrook Academy of Art with a major in painting. She has exhibited internationally in Europe, United States, Japan and Korea, as well as nationally in both juried and invitational exhibitions and has been the recipient of numerous grants and awards. In 1999 she received the Saidye Bronfman Award for Excellence in the Crafts and in 2000 was inducted into the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts. She currently teaches and works in Toronto.
Susan Low-Beer presented an artist talk on Saturday, September 22 at 7pm.
The exhibition is organized and circulated by the Art Gallery of Algoma and generously funded through the Department of Canadian Heritage, Museums Assistance Program. Nous reconnaissons l’appui financier du gouvernement du Canada.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by a contribution from:
Earthborn 2018
September 23 to December 16, 2018
Earthborn is an annual, juried exhibition of works by members of the Waterloo Potters’ Workshop, a non-profit co-operative organization celebrating its 50th Anniversary this year. Established in 1968, WPW is located in Waterloo Park and occupies the historic Jacob Eby farmhouse, which functions as a work/learn space for members and a teaching facility for the public. This year’s juror is Scott Barnim, a Dundas-based potter. Barnim obtained his MFA in Ceramics from the Cardiff Metropolitan University, School of Art and Design, Wales, and in 2016 received the lifetime achievement award from the City of Hamilton Arts Awards.
Participating artists’ artwork is accompanied by the work of past Juror’s, including 2018 Juror Scott Barnim. Juried artists: Rosemary Aicher, Anne Beyers, Carol Blake, Laurie Cowell, Judy Donaldson, Harriet Falk, Stephen Hawes, Hette Hilsdon, Jason L’Abbe, Claudia Lambert, June Macdonald, Joanne Makulski, Marlen Moggach, Trudy Schulz, Indira Singh, Stewart Smith, Connie Straicher, Jacqueline Tate, Eekta Trienekens, Cynthia Trombley, Dorothea Tutte, Nicole Waddick and Daphne Wang.
Earthborn reception and awards ceremony was held on Sunday, September 23 at 1:30pm.
Then, Now, and Next
April 8 to September 2, 2018
Curated by Sheila McMath
The Gallery’s 25th Anniversary exhibition, Then, Now and Next is an invitational show featuring six acclaimed Canadian artists, Samantha Dickie, Susan Edgerley, Irene Frolic, Zachari Logan, Audie Murray and Peter Powning. The exhibition celebrates artists at various stages of their careers. Some have a long history with the Gallery; all are making their mark in contemporary ceramics and glass.
Established artists Susan
Edgerley and Irene Frolic, both members of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts,
use glass for its inherent metaphorical references to the ethereal
qualities of life and its fragility. Their work also utilizes the poetic
potential of glass to speak about the human condition and the ephemeral beauty
of the natural world. Edgerley and Frolic were both participants in the
Gallery’s inaugural exhibition and we are pleased to invite them back to
celebrate their accomplished careers.
Artist Peter Powning, recipient of the Saidye Bronfman Award in 2006, is engaged in experimentation with many different materials including ceramic, glass, stone and bronze. Powning’s practice encompasses work at various scales from small vessels to large sculptural objects to a public installation. Powning is viewed as an inspirational leader for his study of the ‘elemental’ aspects of materials, his technical proficiency and the way that his practice appears to move fluidly and seamlessly among various media.Contemporary ceramic artist Samantha Dickie has received attention and acclaim for the quiet power of her installations. For this exhibition, Dickie will debut a new work made of over 1,000 porcelain components. Her work encourages viewers to carefully observe subtle variations of handmade objects and to pause in her immersive environments.
Zachari Logan and Audie Murray have been invited to participate in this exhibition to represent the expansive, interdisciplinary approach embodied by many ‘next‘ generation artists. Logan’s work, Fountain, ismade of multiple, intricately sculpted ceramic flowers, accumulated and assembled into a monumental column. The artist adds new ceramic flowers each time he exhibits the work, continuing his meditations on mortality, memory and loss.
Audie Murray is a multi-disciplinary Métis artist who has received attention for her integration of floral bead work on common, everyday objects. In Murray’s work, Fragments of Language, viewers will be greeted in three languages – French, Cree and Michif. Murray’s work will encourage viewers to consider the simultaneous fragility and resilience of culture, language and nature.
An integral part of this exhibition is also the In Memoriam section, which features work from the Gallery’s collection, and pays tribute to the makers of ceramic, glass and enamel art who we have lost over the last 25 years.
The Opening Reception was held on April 8 at 2:00pm. Irene Frolic presented an artist talk during the official preview of the exhibition on April 7 at 7:30pm. Zachari Logan presented an artist talk on July 4 at 7:00pm.
Thank you to our funders and supporters:
The Estate of J. Douglas McCullough
Bill Poole & Louise Dzuryk
Randall Howard & Judy McMullan
Chronicle: 25 Years at the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery
May 5 to September 2, 2018
A Preview of the exhibition was held on Sunday, April 8 at 2:00 pm. The show runs until September 2, 2018.
Explore the archives of The Clay & Glass as it celebrate a quarter century of silica arts. Unearthed from the vaults, this exhibit reflects on 25 years of the people and events that have shaped the Gallery’s history. The exhibition is held at the City of Waterloo Visitor and Heritage Information Centre, located at 10 Father David Bauer Drive, Waterloo, ON.
This exhibition is made possible in part by contributions from:
Trajectories
January 14 to March 18, 2018
For the winter 2018 season, the Gallery presented an exhibition of the curated works of seven artists who won the RBC Award for Glass between 2008 and 2016. They are Benjamin Kikkert, Ito Laïla Le François, Aaron Oussoren, Julia Reimer, Brad Turner, Cheryl Wilson Smith, and Rachael Wong. The exhibition featured new work by these artists, illustrating the growth in their artistic practice and output stimulated by winning the prestigious award.
These artists, in addition to sharing the distinction of winning the RBC Award for Glass, also share a commitment to the exploration of glass as an experimental and seductive medium. While some of the artists in this exhibition made use of traditional glass manipulation techniques including casting, blowing, sandblasting and pâte de verre, others incorporated the investigation of 3D printing and digital manufacturing methods into their practice.
This exhibition has been made possible in part by a contribution from:
Cultural Topographies: The Complexities of History and Identity in Canada
April 9 to August 24, 2017
Curated by Julie René de Cotret
This exhibition featured concept-driven artworks in ceramic and glass that explore identity, culture and history in Canada. Exhibiting artists included: Ann Beam, Adrian Blackwell, Laurent Craste, Chris Curreri, Léopold L. Foulem, Mathieu Grodet, David R. Harper, Sarah Maloney, Kelly Mark, Nadia Myre, Tasman Richardson and Tim Whiten.
The hierarchical categorizations and divisions imposed between art and craft are re-examined in this exhibition. Léopold L. Foulem, whose conceptual ceramic practice is principal to the development of this exhibition, once said, “matter doesn’t matter”, addressing the tendency of the art world, for example, to assign greater value to works made of bronze than to those in ceramic. The conceptual contributions of crafts to the arts are seldom recognized.
These artworks were selected for their aesthetic and conceptual value. In the context of this exhibition, the works embody the important contributions of craft concept to art, specifically in the fields of sculpture and installation. The craft concepts explored by these works are those of containment, and of the object as frame.
A Bower, Quiet: Hidden Beings of the Wood – FUSE Exhibition
May 26 to July 6, 2017
Featuring Mary Philpott
Erosion – FUSE Exhibition
March 31 to May 21, 2017
Featuring Jerre Davidson
Christopher Reid Flock: Integration/Disintegration
January 15 to March 19, 2017
As an experimental ceramic artist, Christopher Reid Flock’s work is profoundly influenced by the significant time that he spent in Japan and the mentorship that he received from some of Canada’s most respected potters. Among other accolades, Flock was the recipient of the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics in 2014 and was shortlisted for the Gardiner Museum Permanent Sculpture Competition in 2016. Flock lives and has a studio in Hamilton, Ontario.
Although this ambitious exhibition included some works from Flock’s earlier career, it featured more prominently his large-scale, installation-based works that whimsically play with notions of function while merging rapid prototyping with classical clay process. Integration/Disintegration included six main bodies of Flock’s work.
A companion exhibition called Mentorship: Harvest, Flow, Ferment featured selected works by Flock’s most influential mentors, Bruce Cochrane, Diane Nasr O’Young and Kayo O’Young. Works for this exhibition have been borrowed from private collections across Canada as well as through a significant loan from the Art Gallery of Burlington.