The Gardiner is now open from Thursday - Sunday, including free weekend admission! There's plenty of space to reconnect and amazing art to discover in all corners of the Museum. Clay Restaurant is still open Tuesday - Sunday. Reservations fill up fast, so book your table early. Please read our new health and safety policies before you visit.
From sticky to crusty, pliable to powdery, and shaped to shapeless, clay’s ability to transform in real time is prompting a new generation of artists to explore the possibilities of this ancient material. RAW features new work by four artists who are pushing boundaries with unfired clay: Cassils, Magdolene Dykstra, Azza El Siddique, and Linda Swanson. See it now!
We're firing up the kilns again! Join us on Saturdays and Sundays from 1 - 3 pm for drop in clay classes in our pottery studios. We've reduced our class sizes to allow for safe physical distancing, and instituted new health and safety protocols. Registration opens online at 10 am on the morning of the class. We can't wait to see you back in the studios!
Every object in our permanent collection can be accessed through our eMuseum portal. Learn about individual collecting areas, like Italian Maiolica or Modern and Contemporary Ceramics, or search the full collection by keyword. You'll be amazed by what you discover!
As we begin to welcome visitors back to the Gardiner, we need your support to continue offering innovative and engaging exhibitions, programs, and community projects on site and online. Make a donation and help us build community with clay.
Focus Gallery
A Bit of Clay on the Skin: New Ceramic Jewelry explores the appeal of ceramics, especially porcelain, in jewelry. Organized by the Fondation d’Entreprise Bernardaud and curated by the renowned German-born goldsmith and jewelry artist, Monika Brugger, the exhibition showcases the versatility and allure of the medium, which can be modeled or cast, used alone or with metal, wood, and stone, and vary in color and texture.
The exhibition presents 140 works and features the work of twenty cutting-edge jewelry artists, including creations by such notables as Peter Hoogeboom (The Netherlands), Ted Noten (The Netherlands), Gésine Hackenberg (Germany), Marie Pendariès (Spain), and Shu-Lin Wu (Taiwan). While some make reference to traditional jewelry in materials and symbolism, others altogether redefine it in substance, form, and matter.
Exhibition Programs & Events
Thursday May 16, Reception: 5:30 – 6:30 pm; Lecture 6:30 – 8 pm A Bit of Clay on the Skin, From Egyptian Craftsmen to European Artists $25 General; $20 Members
This Exhibition is part of the Toronto International Jewellery Festival in conjunction with the Meta-Mosaic, the 2013 SNAG Conference.
Header: Marie Pendariès, La dot, 2008 (detail), installation, photography, 28 porcelain pieces, © Marie Pendariès