Current Exhibition

573°
Catherine De Abreu, Veronika Horlik, Julie Lavoie, Guy Simoneau & Vera Vicente
Virginia McClure Ceramic Biennale
Guest Curator: Luc Delavigne

Vera Vicente, 2017, faïence, engobe, bronze / earthenware, glaze, bronze, 11 x 8 x 6 cm photo: René Funk

Vernissage: Thursday November 1 at 6 pm
Exhibition: November 2 to 24
Curator and Artists’ Talk: Thursday November 8 at 6:30 pm

The McClure Gallery is delighted to launch 573˚, our third Virginia McClure Ceramic Biennale. The title speaks to technical know-how and processes; 573˚C is the temperature at which clay becomes ceramic, miraculously transforming it into art. The artworks in this exhibition articulate how these artists employ their remarkable craftsmanship and knowledge of traditional approaches to experiment in novel ways. In 573˚ we emphasize how this specific knowledge allows contemporary ceramic artists to create work that speaks with relevance to their time and place.

We are honoured and truly grateful to have Luc Delavigne, outgoing president of the Conseil des métiers d’arts du Québec (2013-2018) and current assistant director at the Centre de céramique Bonsecours, as curator of this project. For over fifteen years, Luc has dedicated himself to increasing the visibility of fine crafts, with an emphasis on ceramics, and this exhibition certainly contributes to his remarkable effort. Luc has chosen five distinguished Quebec-based artists – Catherine De Abreu, Veronika Horlik, Julie Lavoie, Guy Simoneau, and Vera Vicente – each with a mastery of particular techniques. We are grateful for these artists’ skillful contributions. Luc’s interest in the object, the process of making, and technical know-how – all serving to articulate contemporary artistic concerns – is very evident in this exhibition.

The Virginia McClure Ceramic Biennale, a series of five exhibitions over ten years, is dedicated to the celebration of excellence and innovation in contemporary ceramic art and honours Virginia McClure’s dedication to the field of ceramics and the Visual Arts Centre. Whereas our first two biennales – Caméléon (2014) and Épisode (2016) – emphasized the impulse towards innovation in contemporary ceramic practice, this year’s theme highlights excellence of craftsmanship as a means to achieve innovation. And unlike the first two exhibitions that invited artists from outside of Quebec, this year, we reached into our own Quebec community, as there are few places more historically anchored in the excellence of craftsmanship than Quebec. The exhibition has an accompanying catalogue of 76 pages including an essay from the curator and a portfolio for each artist.

Gallery Hours: Tuesday to Friday 12 pm to 6 pm; Saturday 12 pm to 5 pm
galeriemcclure@centredesartsvisuels.ca