TOP: Claire, 2010. Powder-coated turned aluminum, 107 cm high x
122 cm wide x 61 cm deep. Collection of the artist.

ABOVE: The Customs and the Spirit of the Nations: Occident, 2011,
100 cm high x 117 cm wide. Lenticular image of ceramics, collection
of the artist.

Greg Payce: Illusions

Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Toronto, Ont.
Feb, 2 to May 6, 2012
Guest Curator: Amy Gogarty

Greg Payce is recognized internationally for his unique ceramic
works combining vase forms with precisely articulated profiles. When
properly aligned, illusionary images, most often of human figures,
appear in the negative spaces between the vases. A new exhibition
opening at the Gardiner Museum in Toronto presents a selection of
the artist’s work dating from the early 1990s. Covering a timespan of
20 years, the exhibition is installed throughout the museum, giving
viewers the opportunity to observe the artist’s remarkable development
as a ceramic and multi-media artist,

Greg Payce was born in Edmonton in 1956. He attended the
University of Alberta and NASCAD University in Halifax, attaining his
MFA in Ceramics in 1987. Since 1988, he has been a faculty member
in Ceramics at the Alberta College of Art and Design in Calgary,
where he currently lives and works. Payce has exhibited in 20 solo
exhibitions and over 130 group exhibitions in Canada and abroad. His
work is included in numerous public and private collections, and he
has travelled, lectured and participated as a visiting artist in countries
around the world.

In this exhibition, important early works including decorative
platters and Minoan-inspired vessels layered with imagery drawn from
historical ceramics, popular culture, music and visual art demonstrate
the artist’s fascination with image, decoration, history and technology.
‘These will be displayed in the Focus Gallery amidst the Museum’s rich
collection of historical ceramics. By the mid-1990s, he was developing
the work that has attracted the most attention, multiple vessel works
that incorporate objects and human figures in the negative spaces
between vessels. Payce’s forms recall medieval albarelli, or drug jars,
which were tapered at the waist, and garnitures, formal arrangements
of decorative vessels with contrasting profiles. From these historical
precedents, Payce evolved a unique and philosophically challenging
approach to ceramic form.

Starting in 2007, Payce began to create large-scale lenticular
photographs of major pieces, opening new possibilities for seeing and
experiencing the original works. Lenticular photographs incorporate
digitally re-mastered images and lenses to create startling three-
dimensional illusions. He also began to experiment with video projected
on to moving works, creating mesmerizing sequences. The exhibition
will include examples of major works from the last five years including
original ceramic artworks, lenticular photographs created from these
artworks and large-scale video projections. Visitors will experience the
work in a variety of arrangements, formats and scales.

This exhibition showcases one of Canada’s most innovative and
productive ceramic artists, demonstrating his ongoing commitment
to expanding the expressive and conceptual range of ceramic art.
For more information, please see the Gardiner Museum website at

www.gardinermuseum.on.ca/exhibitions/greg-payce-illusions.

GUILD ee
of BRITISH

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Potters Guild of BC Newsletter - February 2012

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