welcome to our
SATURDAY EVENING POST
January 11th, 2025
Ceramics is one of humanity's most enduring art forms, has undergone a profound transformation from a utilitarian craft to a celebrated fine art. Its evolution is deeply reflective of human history, it is a fusion of cultural traditions, technical innovation, and contemporary artistic practice. Today, ceramics occupies a prominent place in the art world, they are no longer objects befitting a shelf or plinth, they are works that are not only a blend of ancient techniques and beauty, but also address complex themes of identity, memory, and the environment.
Ceramics making begins over 10,000 years ago, with early civilizations using clay to create vessels, figurines, and tiles that balanced practicality with artistic expression. In Mesopotamia, ceramics were embellished with intricate geometric patterns and served as both functional tools and symbols of religious devotion. Egyptian ceramics, known for their vibrant glazes and elegant forms, played a significant role in funerary practices and daily life, a record of the spiritual and material priorities of ancient society. Meanwhile, Mesoamerican ceramics were central to rituals and storytelling, featuring elaborate designs that depicted deities, myths, and social hierarchies. These works highlight ceramics' universal ability to capture cultural values and artistic ingenuity.
The Chinese mastery of porcelain during the Tang and Song dynasties revolutionized global trade and firmly established China as the epicentre of ceramic innovation for centuries. Porcelain, often referred to as "white gold," was celebrated for its unmatched translucence, delicate forms, and intricate craftsmanship. These qualities made it a highly coveted luxury item across the globe, driving extensive trade networks that connected Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. The porcelain of this period not only demonstrated technical brilliance but also embodied a sophisticated aesthetic that came to symbolize the height of cultural refinement and imperial power in China.
The techniques developed during this era, including advanced glazing methods, high-temperature firing, and the refinement of kaolin clay, set a global standard at the time for ceramic production. These innovations inspired artistic and technological advancements in the Middle East, where Islamic potters adapted Chinese designs into lusterware and other forms.
Beyond its technical and aesthetic achievements, Chinese porcelain also carried deep cultural significance, symbolizing status and wealth. It became a diplomatic tool and a medium of cultural exchange, influencing tastes and artistic practices worldwide. At this time, Chinese created export ware that were specifically aimed for exporting to Europe. Concurrently, Japanese traditions like Raku pottery elevated ceramics to an art form that embodied Zen philosophy, emphasizing the wabi-sabi aesthetic of imperfection and natural beauty. These developments highlighted ceramics' capacity to convey profound cultural and spiritual values and solidified their role as markers of both artistic and societal sophistication.
In Europe, the Renaissance saw a flourishing of ceramic art, influenced by the influx of Asian and Middle Eastern designs. Italian majolica, with its richly coloured tin-glazed surfaces, celebrated humanism and mythology, while Dutch Delftware adopted the visual language of Chinese blue-and-white porcelain, reflecting the global exchange of ideas. By the 18th century, industrialization transformed ceramics, with factories like Wedgwood in England democratizing fine pottery. Josiah Wedgwood's innovations in materials and design not only expanded access to ceramics but also positioned them as symbols of sophistication and taste. These developments laid the groundwork for ceramics to evolve into a respected medium of artistic expression, bridging the gap between functionality and creativity.
From Craft to High Art
For much of its history, ceramics was categorized as a craft, they were functional objects rather than works of art. However, the 20th century marked a pivotal shift as artists and movements began to challenge these distinctions. The Studio Pottery Movement, led by figures such as Lucie Rie and Hans Coper, redefined ceramics as a medium for personal and artistic expression. Rie's delicate glazes and Coper's abstract forms bridged the gap between functional pottery and modernist sculpture, drawing inspiration from European modernism and Japanese aesthetics. Their works emphasized simplicity, materiality, and innovation, positioning ceramics within broader modernist movements.
Peter Voulkos revolutionized the medium in the mid-20th century by introducing the gestural dynamism of Abstract Expressionism into ceramics. His monumental, deconstructed forms defied traditional expectations of functionality, altering clay's potential as a medium of fine art. Voulkos's influence extended to artists like Betty Woodman, who blended painterly abstraction with sculptural form, using mixed media with clay, creating vibrant works that blurred the boundaries between painting, sculpture, and craft. Feminist artists such as Judy Chicago brought a political dimension to ceramics, using the medium to critique societal norms. Her landmark work, The Dinner Party (1979), celebrated women's contributions to history through intricately designed ceramic plates, repurposing the medium as a vehicle for storytelling and cultural critique.
Artist like Edmund de Waal have continued to expand ceramics' conceptual horizons. De Waal's minimalist installations, such as library of exile, use porcelain to explore themes of memory, displacement, and cultural history. Similarly, Ai Weiwei's monumental installation Sunflower Seeds engages with global production and labour, using over 100 million hand-crafted porcelain seeds to critique industrialization and consumerism. These works demonstrate ceramics' capacity to address profound contemporary issues while remaining rooted in its historical legacy.
The Resurgence
The 21st century has witnessed a vibrant resurgence of ceramics, celebrated for its tactile immediacy. Magdalene Odundo, one of the most renowned ceramic artists of our time, creates biomorphic vessels that draw deeply on African and European ceramic traditions. Her work is characterized by a profound respect for ancient techniques, which she reinterprets to produce fluid, organic forms that are both timeless and innovative. Born in Kenya and later trained in the United Kingdom, Odundo's career has been shaped by a synthesis of cultural influences. Her method often involves hand-building techniques such as coiling, a process that connects her to the ancestral traditions of pottery-making in Africa. These vessels are burnished and smoked to achieve their signature surfaces, which range from matte blacks to rich, luminous reds and ochres. The tactile quality of her pieces reflects a meticulous process of refinement and an intimate engagement with her materials.
Odundo’s work is imbued with a sense of both physical and cultural weight. Her forms, which often evoke the human body, possess an anthropomorphic quality that invites viewers to consider the relationship between the vessel and the human form. This interplay between form and function, heritage and innovation, makes her work a vital contribution to contemporary ceramics. Odundo’s pieces are not only celebrated for their aesthetic beauty but also for their conceptual depth, as they explore themes of identity, history, and the interconnectedness of cultural traditions. Shary Boyle's narrative-driven sculptures intertwine mythology and identity, using clay and multimedia to create surreal, emotive works that engage deeply with human vulnerability and resilience.
Wayne Ngan, celebrated for his mastery of wood-fired techniques, merges East Asian traditions with a distinctly modern sensibility. His works, characterized by their simplicity and meditative quality, reflect a timeless dialogue between material, fire, and form. Ngan’s creative process, deeply connected to nature, integrates the rhythms of his environment into his artistic practice, producing works that are both contemplative and dynamic. While Toronto based artist Susan Collett's intricate sculptures push the boundaries of clay, creating dynamic forms that balance fragility and strength.
The Gardiner Museum in Toronto has emerged as a pivotal force in elevating ceramics to high art. Founded in 1984 by George and Helen Gardiner, the museum initially focused on European porcelain and Pre-Columbian ceramics but has since expanded to encompass global traditions and contemporary innovations. Its permanent collection includes masterpieces of Italian majolica, Asian ceramics, and groundbreaking works by modern artists. Exhibitions such as Steven Heinemann’s “Culture and Nature”, Ai Weiwei’s “Unbroken”, and Magdalene Odundo’s “A Dialogue with Objects” highlight the medium’s conceptual depth, while Shary Boyle’s “Outside the Palace of Me” demonstrates its versatility and emotional resonance.
The Gardiner is also a hub of education and public engagement. Through workshops, artist residencies, and lectures, the museum creates spaces for dialogue, learning, and creative experimentation. This helps demystify ceramics and position it as a vital part of contemporary cultural discourse, inspiring both artists and audiences.
Ceramics offers a unique sensory experience, where touch and materiality have become increasingly rare in artistic engagement. The tactile nature of ceramics fosters intimate connections between the artist, the material, and the viewer. Each piece carries the physical memory of its making — the amorphous and ambiguous state of the clay, pressure of hands, the transformative fire, and the alchemy of glaze and heat — imbuing ceramic works with tangible presence that invites both visual and emotional engagement. This sensory immediacy grounds audiences in a shared material history, connecting the contemporary viewer to time and history, traditions of creation and utility, making collectors of ceramics part of a very tangible history.
We are proud to announce our upcoming exhibition
JACK BUSH: FLAUNTING THE RULES
Opening Saturday, February 1st, 2025
