By Staff
February 20th, 2023
BURLINGTON, ON
Make a note now of the future events you will want to take in
The Art Gallery of Burlington (AGB), home to the world’s largest collection of Canadian contemporary ceramics, releases a new line-up of exhibitions for 2023. Presenting programming across a wide range of artistic mediums and exploring themes such as iconography, Indigenous histories, ancestral knowledge, the act of remembering and belonging, legacies and literacies, each exhibition is intended to provoke critical conversations on the issues of our time. In this special year the AGB also celebrates the 40th anniversary of its permanent collection with The Weight of Clay, an exhibition series highlighting both the history and impact of the collection.
Fausta Facciponte, Story Fragment No. 125, 2021
Fausta Facciponte: Little Tragedies and New Beginnings
December 2, 2022 – March 5, 2023
Fausta Facciponte, Story Fragment No. 125, 2021
Photograph, Inkjet print, archival pigment inks. Edition of 10, Courtesy Stephen Bulger Gallery
This tableau style exhibition positions original ceramic pieces and photographs by artist Fausta Facciponte with clay works from the AGB’s permanent collection to create narrative fragments depicting the fragile moments of life and the complexities of repair.
Caroline Monnet: Holding Up the Sky
January 13 – April 23, 2023
Caroline Monnet, Worlds Apart, 2022, Foam, OSB, 116.8 x 116.8 x 21.1 cm.
Courtesy of the artist and Blouin Division Gallery.
The artist uses the cube, to draw attention to how different spatial relationships condition the way that we live and think.
In this survey of new and recent works, multidisciplinary artist Caroline Monnet centers geometries, especially the cube, to draw attention to how different spatial relationships condition the way that we live and think. Monnet’s practice moves between textiles, photography, sculpture, and film to address the complexity of Indigenous identities and bilateral legacies, drawing from her Anishinaabe and French heritages.
A collaborative exhibition between the Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild
Spark! From the Collections
January 14 – April 23, 2023
DaNisha Sculpture, Starry Night, 1997. Earthenware, stains, glaze. 1998.054.0.1. Donated by Joan Bennett, 1998. Photo credit: Kat Williams. Lois Wyndham, Night Shades, 2022. Handweaving, rep weave.
This collaborative exhibition between the Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild and the Gallery features new textile works inspired by ceramic pieces belonging to the AGB’s permanent collection, creating a catalyst to connect craft and contemporary art mediums.
Living Library
January 2023 – December 2023
Natalie King, a soft place to daydream, 2023. Mural, dimensions variable.
Courtesy of the artist. Photo credit: Chris Blanchenot
Living Library encourages the exchange of a broad range of human knowledge, experience, traditions, and ideas in a welcoming and supportive environment.
Living Library program is a year-long initiative with rotating and overlapping artists and authors’ projects, which provides free and equitable access to events, a maker space, books, and room to sprawl. Like a library, it encourages the exchange of a broad range of human knowledge, experience, traditions, and ideas in a welcoming and supportive environment.
The Weight of Clay
From Collector to Collection
March 14 – May 28, 2023
Jim Hong Louie, Dodo #1, n.d. Stoneware, glaze.
1984.014.0.1. Donated by Mr. Herbert O. Bunt, 1984
Highlighting the inspirational donation from Herbert O. Bunt that began the AGB’s permanent collection of ceramic art, this exhibition explores both the pieces donated, and the impact the donation had on artists, curators, and the future of the Gallery itself.
All Guilds Show/23
May 6 – June 4, 2023
Opening Reception: May 6, 1 – 3:00 PM
Each year the AGB hosts an annual exhibition celebrating the guilds who make, learn, share, and teach in our spaces, including the Burlington Fine Arts Association, Burlington Handweavers and Spinners Guild, Latow Photographers Guild, Burlington Potters Guild, Burlington Hooking Craft Guild, and Burlington Sculptors and Carvers.
Akash Inbakumar: Era of the Moon: Phases
June 2 – September 17, 2023
Emerging artist Akash Inbakumar focuses on a combination of craft practises, dance, and music to explore the influences of the moon. Through their work, Akash investigates queer and BIPOC narratives intersecting with science fiction, fantasy, and metaphor. Here, they create futures where craft objects play the role of carrying family lineage, storyteller, and genetics, compared to the colonial west’s nuclear family.
Hand-built and cast porcelain, glass, plexiglass rods.
The Weight of Clay
Collecting Contemporary Ceramics
June 16 – October 8, 2023
Ying Yueh Cheung, IT BLOOMS IN THE DAY, 2005,
Hand-built and cast porcelain, glass, plexiglass rods.
Purchased with a generous donation from Maureen Charlton.
Opening Reception: June 15, 6 – 8:00 PM
40th Anniversary of the Permanent Collection Patron’s Dinner: June 22, 6 – 8:00 PM
Over the last forty years, the Art Gallery of Burlington has amassed over 4,000 unique pieces of clay-based art, culminating in the world’s largest and most comprehensive collection of contemporary Canadian ceramics. Spanning spaces throughout the galleries, The Weight of Clay celebrates and chronicles the development of this historically significant collection, and honours the artists, curators, educators, donors, and volunteers who have contributed to both the AGB’s holdings and to the intellectual growth of ceramics in Canada.
Chiedza Pasipanodya
September 26, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Inspired by the architecture of termite mounds found across the Southern hemisphere, artist Chiedza Pasipanodya applies a labour-intensive process of hand building with coils of clay and burnishing with graphite. By focusing on elements related to labour, life, building, and community, the artist seeks to elevate narratives that might otherwise be forgotten or misremembered, especially the cultural productions of people of African descent.
Sybil Atteck: A Legacy Unveiled
October 20, 2023 – January 7, 2024
Sybil Atteck, Girl in Costume, 1948.
Oil On Board, 73.03 x 62.87 x 5.72 cm. Courtesy of Keith Atteck
Opening Reception: October 7, 6 – 8:00 PM
Pioneering Trinidadian artist Sybil Atteck applied her knowledge of natural history, science, craft, and various art techniques to create a body of work across painting, sculpture, and photography. In this stunning retrospective, a broad collection of Attecks’ work is brought together with catalogues, photographs, and critical reviews to reveal a woman and artist of extraordinary accomplishment.
ABOUT THE AGB – The Art Gallery of Burlington ommits to delivering programs that engage critically with contemporary art and craft practices, push the boundaries of traditional arts education, and support artists, youth, and the broader community in their personal, professional, and artistic development.
