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Back to the Land

Ceramics from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1970-1985

Curated by Diane Carr  |  Pollard Gallery

Back to the Land: Ceramics from Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands 1970-1985 presents the work of 31 ceramic artists working on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands in the 1970s and 1980s. Guest curated by Diane Carr, the exhibition emphasizes the “back to the land” movement of the early 1970s as the impetus for the explosion of ceramic activity in this region. 

At this time, Victoria flourished as an important centre for ceramics, several galleries were established throughout the city, including Carr’s own gallery the Potters Wheel, and the artists were increasingly able to support themselves with their work. The exhibited artists were among the principal teachers in the region at this time, and many worked from influence and training in three dominant artistic styles: European modernism and the Bauhaus, the Leach/Hamada tradition, and abstract expressionism. Back to the Land is the first group exhibition at the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria to focus on this period in the development of this medium, and an important step in reconstructing the ceramic history of this period.

With key pieces from public and private collections, Back to the Land brings together an impressive selection of works by significant ceramic artists of this time period. The exhibition includes a publication with essays by Diane Carr and Nancy Janovicek.

Please note the following erratum from the exhibition catalogue…

Page 9 photography credit should appear as follows:

Gary and Beth Cherneff, Salt Spring Island, BC, 1975.  Photo: Murray Polson, courtesy of Gary Cherneff.