Carl Beam, Dennis Burton, Graham Coughtry, David Gilhooley, Robert Held, Robert Markle,

Diane Pugen, Gordon Raynor

Douglas Wright Education Gallery

January 9th to February 6th, 2005

SCOPE will demonstrate the breadth of artistic practice of a number of artists who are best known for their paintings and works on paper but whom also created works in ceramics. These ceramic pieces, mostly chosen from the CCGG permanent collection, will be paired with examples of 2-dimensional work by these artists in order to suggest commonalities between the different art forms and the thematic developments in each artist’s work.

Gordon Raynor’s mixed media wall assemblages have expressive and textural surfaces in contrast to the smoothness of his ceramic Shirt No. 1. The assemblages are abstractions, evocations of a concept or idea. Likewise Shirt appears to be more an impression of, rather then a literal depiction of a piece of clothing, as it is flattened out into an almost two-dimensional object.

Robert Markle’s distinctive sexiness is readily apparent in both his untitled lithograph depicting a nude woman and his ceramic pedestal plate with its image of a woman’s feet either slipping in or out of stiletto mules. In both cases the woman is tempting, teasing and tantalizing – unabashedly sexual. Yet in one sense it is the viewer who embues the work with this charge of eroticism. Markle’s woman looks away from us; the ceramic piece depicts only her feet. It is left to the viewer’s imagination to fill in the rest. And in both cases, while the woman is nude (rather than naked) neither work is lascivious. The woman in the lithograph looks strong and dignified. And the ceramic piece is a “pedestal” piece – inferring that the “offering” is both delicious and valuable.

Robert Held’s love of colour is clearly evident in his glass works and in his paintings. He is known as a master glass maker and while he has painted for years he had only recently begun to exhibit them. He said that his paintings were done for himself and his own enjoyment and that is what motivates him in creating them. In his works, colour is abstractedly applied and shimmers of iridescence shine out from amongst his deep, rich colours, drawing the viewr in to catch the magic of the work. The swirls in his glass flow organically whereas his paintings incorporate more lines and geometric aspects in order to frame the colours.

David Gilhooly’s work – whether it be ceramic, printmaking or assemblage – is characterized by an irreverent funkiness. He obviously loves to explore the idea of “what if” when juxtaposing imagery in order to see what might come out of it. It is that idea of the incidental, of not going into a work with a preconceived idea as to how it is supposed to look at the end, that excites him and that has been an ongoing part of his artistic practice. Each “picture” forms itself with one element suggesting the addition of another. He has described it as an “almost” random process. In 1996, Gilhooly gave up his ceramic practice in order to concentrate on creating his assemblages.

Graham Coughtry’s abstracted figurative technique is consistently applied in both his lithograph and ceramic plate. The contrast of dark and light areas in both works are used to evoke form and to create a sense of depth. Cross-hatching and lines infuse the pieces with a sense of drama and movement. Both are works were the forms are inferred rather than clearly delineated. And in each case, the process is undeniably physical.

Dennis Burton’s Tubes assemblage piece depicts different tube shapes that can be found in both culture and nature. It is interesting that while the main composition and subject of his Paintings Plates No. 1-4 is a history or memorial to a brush stroke, that it nonetheless suggests the tube shape which he explored in this later work. It is not uncommon for artists to return to certain images or themes and to explore them in different mediums or contexts throughout their career. This is sometimes a conscious and at other times an intuitive exploration on their part.

Carl Beam's work as a painter, printmaker and ceramist is distinguished by its frequently critical examinations of historic and contemporary political events. He explores tough questions concerning social and cultural values, particularly those arising from his own native heritage. Technically regarded as an innovator, his intentional blurring of diverse art practices enables certain methodologies and techniques to acquire new contexts. Many of those techniques are being emulated by a new generation of both native and non-native artists.

For Diane Pugen the earth and its varied landscape is an intrinsic part of her work. Her artwork often includes written, audio and installation components which are used in an archetypal manner and that have a mnemonic presence. For her, land sites have a cultural history as well as a natural history, and implicit in both histories are ethno-graphic relationships that have inherent meaning for all people’s relationships to land. Through relating herself and her audience to each specific site, she facilitates an awareness of the interconnection of these perceived realities.

The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery would like to express its appreciation to the Harbinger Gallery (Waterloo), Kitchener Waterloo Art Gallery (Kitchener) and the Moore Gallery (Toronto) for their loan of artworks for this exhibition.