HERE + NOW
Connecting Culture + Landscape through Water
A Collection of Atlantic Canada fine contemporary craft work, curated for Collect Art Fair 2025 (UK)
HERE + NOW Connecting Culture + Landscape through Water, Craft Alliance Atlantic Association’s exhibition at Collect Art Fair 2025, presents the evocative properties of water through the lenses of 18 emerging and established artists taking the viewer through a journey beyond time and space.
The curation of works in this exhibition started from the desire to evoke the importance of the water element in the process, and as inspiration for craft artists. It was built on the appreciation for process and aesthetic of each artist selected, and considered how the interaction of the pieces would work with the theme, who our public was, and why the need of that piece, both for the artist and our audience. The threads that hold this exhibition together are tied to the rugged shorelines, winding paths of rivers and the co-existence of natural and man-made objects inspired by the bodies of water in the Canadian Atlantic Region.
These artists take up the role of remembering, respecting, reflecting, and making visible their deepest connection to the land and the original people of Turtle Island. Their artworks overlap time, place, and people, carrying memory from maker to object to viewer; flowing with power, contemplation, and beauty; an evocative remembrance of who they are, where they come from, and their place in history. They excel in the most distinctive quality of Canadian Craft Art and its people to international viewers: the thoughtfulness in the act of making.
Art is an empowering tool to facilitate critical dialogue. The appreciation for fine contemporary craft happens in a space where the communications of ideas and emotions are tangible and accessible in a multi-sensory way. Brigitte Clavette’s silver vessels carry with them the raw nature form, Debra Kuzyk’s vibrant ceramic birds reflect on the importance of water for life, Anastasia Tiller’s whimsical rugs prompt us to make space for fun and imagination, Gordon Sparks’ carved masks remind us that we are one with nature and that we should “give to nature if we are taking something from it”.
Metamorphosis and liminality, permanence and change, are themes woven throughout the exhibition on the works of Allana Baird, Darren Emenau, Heather Pitts, Ralph Simpson, Rilla Marshall, Lucus MacDonald, Nancy Oakley, and Isako Suzuki. These artists work from the premise of kinship with the bodies of water that surround their home aiming to understand their role as transformative agents of their landscape, and thus they create an invitation for others to investigate this in, and for, themselves through their work.
Kye-Yeon-Son, Pamela Ritchie, Elise Campbell, Emma Piirtoniemi, Teresa Bergen, and Susan Furneaux, exquisitely present works that highlight our connection with the natural world and how materials, processes, and construction techniques underscore the symbiotic relationship of place, landscape, and culture. They demonstrated a strong sense of risk taking, innovation, and collaborations between craftspeople and the natural elements that inspired them, expanding their pieces beyond the traditional interaction methods and encouraging visitors to approach their work with a sense of wonder and unexpected breaths of new forming memories.
Exhibiting at an international venue such as Collect, consists of presenting the artists to a dynamic collection of exhibitions and works that can assist them in developing and expanding their practice. It presents and elevates Atlantic Canadian Craft to an international platform. It also challenges ways of thinking and perception of craft practices, while promoting the innovation and growth the sector had in the past few years. The impact of these artists participating in the Collect Art Fair 2025 will be felt throughout the entire craft community in their regions. It solidifies how Canadian Craft is achieving higher quality in fine contemporary work and practices to new audiences and professional networks that are part of the ongoing discourse on the contemporary craft movement globally.
