Like many of you, we have been closely following the developments of COVID-19. The Gardiner Museum is closed temporarily as of March 14, 2020. We will continue to take guidance from our public health officials regarding the duration of the closure and will post updates to our website and social media channels as they become available. We are grateful for your support and thank you for your patience and understanding as we work to navigate this challenging time. We look forward to welcoming you back to the Gardiner soon.
Our spring sessional classes and workshops scheduled for April and May have been cancelled. Refunds will be issued automatically.
The Gardiner Museum is among the few museums in the world focused on ceramics, and is one of the most important specialty museums internationally. It houses approximately 4,000 objects, including European porcelain, ceramics from the Ancient Americas, Chinese porcelain, Japanese porcelain, and contemporary ceramics. Search the collection online!
Support the Gardiner's mission to champion clay, build community, and promote arts education. All of our memberships include a full year of free admission to the Museum, as well as discounts at CLAY Restaurant and the Gardiner Shop, and start and at just $30!
Lobby Display Part of the CONTACT
Glenn Lewis: The Poetic Process is a conceptual work that opens a space for conversation between two media: ceramics and photography. Presented for the first time at the Gardiner Museum, this installation combines a series of five pots made during a residency at the Leach Pottery in St. Ives, England, and twenty large-scale photographs of roses taken in German and English gardens. The juxtaposition reflects on the long history and symbolism of the rose and vessel form: two dominant motifs and shapes from medieval Europe when art and craft were still creatively united. The installation also comprises a series of ceramic tiles printed with Lewis’ photographs of fragrant roses.
Glenn Lewis’ work asks viewers to look closely. His photographs reveal the details of the blooms—pollen, dew drops, and petals—tempting viewers to approach and smell them. The vessels’ surfaces are also inscribed with a history. When Lewis unpacked the pieces in Vancouver, he discovered that they were damaged. Rather than discard them, he repaired them using the Japanese technique of kintsugi, an art of mending by which the breaks are not hidden but revitalized through the use of gold, encouraging the viewer to see beauty in imperfections.
About CONTACT
CONTACT is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to celebrating and fostering the art and profession of photography with an annual Festival in May and year-round programming in the CONTACT Gallery. CONTACT embraces an inclusive and accessible approach to the medium, and cultivates collaborations with and among artists, curators, institutions, and organizations.