On Saturday May 23rd ‘Where Form Meets the Boundless’ opened at JigSpace Gallery in Vancouver. Five well-known clay artists from Taiwan had travelled here with incredible work and joined four local ceramicists in this show. After the opening their Canadian hosts brought them to Burnaby’s Shadbolt Centre for a free public presentation by the five.
Burnaby resident, our own Amy Li Chuan Chang, told me that the visitors were all staying with her or with nearby friends and she organised a wonderful itinerary of local galleries and studios, scenic spots and restaurants for them.
The other local artists to join the five guests in the show were Debra Sloan, Wei Cheng and Ying-Yueh Chuang. Ying-Yueh was the interpreter as the presentations were all in Mandarin.
We were delighted to see the amazing work that these artists have made, some for many decades. They have used historical precedents, humour and surprise but all pieces are technically fine. It would appear that Taiwanese collectors are keen to purchase work that shows the evolution of each artist’s work, and do not expect them to stick to a recognized style for years. How refreshing!
My photos are taken from projected slides but will give you an idea of the work we were shown. All five artists gave a slide show of their journey in clay. As a result I knew I had to find a time to get myself to the new-to-me JigSpace Gallery in South Vancouver to see the work that they had brought over here. For today I’ll post a selection of the inspirational slide pics and I will make a separate blog about my subsequent visit to the gallery on the day before the show ended.
When the slide presentations were over Ying-Yueh coordinated questions from the audience. Here she is with the five artists, and a photo of Ming-Shun Cho explaining the wearable tea set.
Watch for the next blog, soon, where I’ll include statements by each artist and photos of their work in JigSpace Gallery.
Thank you Gillian, I count on you to post these wonderful exhibitions that I can’t ever attend.
Great post, as usual. Your take on ceramics is refreshing.