London's Clay Art Centre Exhibition - Put a Lid On It.
A JURIED EXHIBITION OF CLAY ART HELD IN LONDON EVERY TWO YEARS HAS OPENED ITS DOORS TO CERAMIC ARTISTS FROM ALL OF CANADA THIS YEAR. Strand Fine Art Services is hosting the London Clay Art Centre’s biennial exhibition, Put A Lid On It, which opened Friday, March 26 and continues until April 13.
In the past, the exhibition was limited to potters from Southwestern Ontario but as the London Clay Art Centre has become “more respected and nationally known in the ceramics community,” the decision was made to expand the call for submissions to include any potter residing in Canada, said organizer Peg Dunnem. “When we opened it up to the entire country, I think we underestimated the number of submissions we’d receive,” said Dunnem, who received more than 80 submissions, the vast majority from outside the region.
“The response was huge.”
Each of the 25 artists could have up to three pieces selected for the show. They are eligible to win three prizes: $500 in supplies for first place, $200 for second place and $100 if chosen for the People’s Choice award based on voting by the public. “It’s so great because it puts the London Clay Art Centre on the map and seen through a different lens,” said Dunnem. “It’s going to be nice for people in London to get to see this work.”
Although the 36 pieces on display are each unique, the common denominator is each comes with a lid. The jurors are two London artists and educators, Mary Redekop and Jeremy Jeresky. Dunnem said it was thought an established gallery setting would be best for the exhibition in terms of space and lighting since the London Clay Art Centre is more of a working environment for dozens of artists.
The London Potters Guild owns and operates the London Clay Art Centre (londonclayartcentre.org) at 664 Dundas St. The centre is a resource for established professional potters and an incubator for the development of new talent.
The Strand’s co-owner, Andrew Smyth, said there is a wide variety of work and styles. “There’s some that are very colourful, some that are more traditional — just a huge range of styles,” he said.