Review: Back to the Land _ By Any Gogarty Back to the Land: Ceramics from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1970-1985 October 5, 2012 - February 3, 2013 Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, Victoria, B.C. Guest curated by Diane Carr; photos courtesy of Stephen Topfer. Back to the Land: Ceramics from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1970-1985 presents 163 works by 31 ceramic artists active in the - x Gulf island region during this time. It is thrilling to see this work presented in depth and with such care, and even those familiar with local ceramics will find intriguing surprises. Curator Diane Carr credits the “back to the land” movement in the early 1970s with fostering ceramic activity, a premise she supports by identifying three primary influences on regional ceramics. A handsome catalogue accompanying the Tiny teapot, by Sue Hara, 1985, porcelain, celadon glaze; carved, pulled handle, 9.3 cm. exhibition includes an essay on the back- Private collection. to-the-land movement by cultural historian Nancy Janovicek from the University of Carr operated a small pottery shop in Vancouver and Gulf Island region, creating Calgary and an essay by Carr discussing the Victoria in the 1970s, exhibiting a number of a pool of highly skilled and talented young work, The catalogue and informative wall these artists, and thus she brings a personal ceramic artists. The PGBC, founded in 1955, texts provide viewers with the means to place perspective to her task. During that time, invited internationally-known ceramists an international wave of potters entered the to conduct workshops, and encouraged its the work in an historical context. members to exhibit widely. All of this activity contributed diversity to production in British Columbia at an early date. Carr notes three primary influences: the Bauhaus and Modernism, the Leach/Hamada tradition and Abstract Expressionism. Direct links to the Bauhaus and Modernism arrived in 1965 with Jan and Helga Grove, who studied with Bauhaus associates and whose families included artists trained in modern design. Jan Grove’s pots are characterized by simple, generous profiles and monochromatic glazes. Leonard and Mary Osborne, originally from Britain, took workshops and became close friends with Bauhaus-trained Marguerite Wildenhain. Leonard’s austere pots are glazed matte black and decorated with closely spaced Di scovery sgrafhto lines. Scandinavian and Bauhaus influence also arrived via Chicago, where a f bn es ‘ rt_Iravel se ao al men 2012-13 CERAMIGS:EXGURSIONS Chicago, at Haystack Mountain in Maine and in Norway prior to emigrating to BC in 1967. His work in the exhibition reveals an G ret e M re) Ke) Cc eve) B U r mM a incest in we designed functional wares and Oct. 8-23, 2012 Nov. 5-26, 2012 January 2013 ad www.denvsiames.com 7 Continued on Page 5, 4G y j TEL. Paste ey elie Leach/Hamada tradition lp RITISH COLUMBIA Potters Guild of BC Newsletter : November 2012 4