Join us on October 25th for Working with friendship, a round table discussion about ceramics and the power of artistic collaboration. This event takes place as part of the 5th Virginia McClure Ceramic Biennale and the Ceramic Friends exhibition (October 25 – November 30). This discussion will bring together 5 artist duos to discuss their experiences and methods working collaboratively, particularly through the medium of clay.
Participating artists :
- Emii Alrai / Eve Tagny
- Marie-Michelle Deschamps / Celia Perrin Sidarous
- Heather Goodchild / Margaux Smith
- August Klintberg / Benny Nemer
- Meredith Carruthers / Susannah Wesley
Ceramics Friends highlights community building, friendship and creative interrelation through clay. This edition of the biennale expands the notion of ceramics beyond produced objects to present the works of five artist duos who work in friendship, engaging with clay as a shared conceptual material to bring forward communal aspects of ceramics work within a studio setting, and the care, resilience, and collaboration this generates. The McClure Gallery thanks the Conseil des arts et des lettres du Québec and the Canada Council for their support of this project.
ABOUT THE ARTISTS:
Emii Alrai (Leeds, UK) and Eve Tagny (Montreal) worked collaboratively for two years developing the concept, conversation and framework for Sutures (2022). Alrai is an artist and trained museum registrar whose practice subverts the traditional visual language of museum displays. Tagny’s multidisciplinary practice explores spiritual and embodied expressions of grief and resiliency in correlation with nature’s rhythms and materiality.
Meredith Carruthers (Montreal) and Susannah Wesley (Montreal) have worked together under the name ‘Leisure’ since 2004. Their research-based art project The Ceremony (2021) is inspired by a document entitled “The Ceremony,” found in the personal papers of local ceramicist Wanda Rozynska Staniszewka (1929-2007), which describes a series of objects, costumes, gestures and forms intended as “symbols for the renewal and healing of friends,” between herself, her husband Stanley Rozynski, and her friend Gail Lamarche. This project was developed as part of the Foreman Art Gallery’s ArtLab residency and further supported by the Rozynski Art Centre, the artist’s former home and studio.
Marie-Michelle Deschamps (Montreal) and Celia Perrin Sidarous (Montreal) began working together in 2020 when they shared a studio. Marie-Michelle Deschamps’ practice focuses on language as an inhabitable space where aesthetic forms reside. Celia Perrin Sidarous is an image-based artist indebted to sStill lLife, whose artworks present assemblages following an internal and associative logic. Both artists have featured in numerous solo and collective exhibitions in Canada and abroad.
Heather Goodchild (Toronto) and Margaux Smith (Toronto) have been collaborating informally for two years. Goodchild is a multidisciplinary artist exhibiting internationally and throughout Canada since 2001. Recurring themes in her work include symbolism, rituals, personal development, and the collapse of the hierarchy of artistic disciplines. Smith uses layers of paint, drawing, and collage to convey the body’s state of constant transformation. She is represented by Clint Roenisch Gallery, Toronto.
August Klintberg (Calgary) and Benny Nemer‘s (Paris, FR) collaborative work articulates itself through participatory gestures involving acts of hospitality, floral gift giving, and paper wrapping, alongside artistic research into the œuvre and legacy of Montreal potter Rosalie Namer (1925-2006). Their projects have been presented in galleries, flower shops, and community gardens in Canada, the United States, Germany, and Scotland.
Leisure is a conceptual collaborative art practice between Montreal-based artists Meredith Carruthers and Susannah Wesley. Working together under the name “Leisure” since 2004, they engage with cultural historical narratives through research, conversation, published texts, curatorial projects and art production.
The Milieux Institute is a leading graduate research center for arts, culture and technology. Established in 2016, it houses several research clusters across various disciplines, and serves as a platform for creative experimentation and collaboration.
📅: October 25, 2024 | 1-2:30 p.m
📍EV 11.705