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Sandra Ainsley Gallery, Toronto 2006
"Peter Powning, one of Canada's leading artists, lives and works in the Caledonian Highlands of southern New Brunswick. A ceramist and sculptor, he uses a mix of media to create hauntingly
moving works expressive of contemporary concerns. He is a master of creative narrative, engaging his audience with sculptures that are both provocative and serene, elusive and dynamic. His best work displays a mastery of the manipulation of clay, glass, and metals to a degree not often achieved even by those who specialize in one of these individual media. It speaks of "the beauty of the spirit that has been tried and survived", as he melds shards, fragments, and fractured segments into works of fluid integrity.
His work is represented in galleries both in Canada and the U.S., and has received many awards, both national and international. He has exhibited extensively in solo exhibitions across North America, as well as participating in numerous travelling shows. He has received much public recognition for his accomplishments, in books, magazines, public institutions, honorary memberships, and organizations, and has been influential, nationally and internationally."
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exhibition
catalogue
35p colour |
 Artist's Statement
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| left to right: Broken Pillar, Open Self |
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| House of Sticks & gallery view |
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exhibition
catalogue
16p colour
Galerie
Elena Lee
Montreal 2004 |
Award
winning artist Peter Powning has for several years
now turned his attention to glass. He is a master
of mixing different materials and techniques cohesively
in his sculpture. The objects he creates are visually
accessible because they speak the language of the
“functional and familiar.” They are, however,
like nothing one has ever encountered: modern in design,
they are infused with colours and textures that lend
them the preciousness of an ancient artifact.
Initialement
connu pour son travail en céramique, Peter
Powning explore depuis plusieurs années le
verre. Passé maître dans l’art
du mélange des médiums, Powning produit
des oeuvres faisant preuve d’une cohésion
et d’une harmonie surprenantes. Et, en obtenant
un résultat au design moderne, mais a la facture
antique, comme s’il s’agissait d’anciens
vestiges, il nous présente un travail qui se
démarque par sa richesse stylistique et sa
haute qualité technique.
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Twainxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
bronze/copper/steel/glass
xxx22"/55cm w
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crusty
yellow basin
clay/bronze
12"h/31cm |
What
I’m attempting with my work is to produce objects
that excite me as well as engage others. It’s
really as simple as that. I’ve had the experience
so many times of seeing: art that moved me, exhibitions
that have left me stunned, museum artifacts that made
my heart sing...that had the pulse of the real ... that
captured something essential and perhaps universal.
I try to do that with my work.
While each piece may deal with a different variety of
concerns and influences, all the work comes from the
same well of desire to connect with myself, my surroundings
and other people.
Peter
Powning |
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O
U T D O O R xxxxS C U L
P T U R E
materials and longevity
Glass, cast iron, bronze, stone, Corten steel and stainless
steel are materials that will all stand the elements
over a prolonged period. It is not my intention that
my outdoor work be completely unaffected by exposure.
The work is meant to “settle in” to its
site and mature with age, taking on a site-specific
patina as a result of sun, wind and rain.
Glass is essentially impervious to the elements but
obviously can be damaged by vandals or by being struck.
Work that includes glass needs to be thoughtfully sited.
Cast iron and Corten steel will rust outdoors. This
forms a protective surface layer of oxidized metal.
Corten steel was designed for bridge building. Cast
iron has been used for a couple of centuries for outdoor
purposes such as manhole covers, bridgework, bollards
etc. We have found cast iron stove parts that have been
in our hedgerows for at least 50 years with no obvious
signs of deterioration other than surface rust and pitting.
My work is intended to mature with age; rust is part
of that process. Once a piece has time to stabilize
it will change very slowly thereafter.
The granite I use in my work is unaffected by the weather.
Other materials may leave minor stains on the stone’s
surface as the sculpture becomes rain washed, such stains
will usually wash off. It is my feeling that this natural
staining enhances the sculpture.
Cast bronze has excellent exterior longevity. It will
continue to weather but this will only add depth to
its initial patina. Combined, these materials give the
sculpture a complexity and richness that improves with
time.
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| 36
page full colour catalogue of Peter Powning's outdoor
sculpture. |
Crux
steel/glass/bronze
8'/2.5m tall |
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New
Echo
cast
iron/cast bronze/glass 11'/3.4m tall |
Ratwing
Press
610 Markhamville Rd.
Markhamville, NB
E4E 4H3 |
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Elemental
Clay and Glass by Peter Powning
In
the past 25 years, Peter Powning has earned respect
among connoisseurs of fine craft as one of Canada's
most innovative ceramists. Many people recognize his
distinctive and commercially successful raku pottery,
but few realize that he is also a sculptor with an international
reputation. Gloria Hickey has curated the first national
solo exhibition of Powning's sculpture for the Canadian
Clay and glass Gallery, and Peter Powning: Elemental
Clay and Glass documents this exhibition with 46 colour
photographs, curatorial essay and artist's statement.
Powning
has exhibited his clay, glass and bronze works in over
60 galleries and museums in Canada, the US, Germany,
Scandinavia, the UK, Australia, New Zealand, China and
Japan. He has gained international recognition through
the Mino International Ceramics Competition, Fletcher
Award Show in New Zealand and the Kanazawa International
Exhibition of Glass in Japan. In New Brunswick, he won
the 1991 Deichmann Award for Excellence in Craft and
the 1993 Strathbutler Award.
Gloria
Hickey's curatorial essay tells how and why Powning
made the pieces in the exhibition. Candid yet sensitive,
it assesses Powning's importance among Canadian ceramists
and glass artists, and it interprets the interests and
values that permeate not only his pottery and sculpture,
but his personal life as well.
Peter
Powning's studio is near Sussex, New Brunswick. He has
served on the New Brunswick Arts Board, the Premier's
Advisory Council on the Arts, and the New Brunswick
Craft Council, and he has been a visiting artist at
the Banff Centre for the Arts. Gloria Hickey, a St.
John's writer and curator, twice won the Betty Park
Award of Merit for her contributions to critical writing
about craft in North America. In 1994 she was nominated
for the Imperial Oil Award for Excellence in Arts Journalism.
Title: Peter Powning: Elemental
Clay and Glass
Ratwing Press 1996
ISBN 0-9680884-0-6
32 Page, 9" x 12" colour catalogue
50 colour images plus text.
Sturdy softcover with 4" endflaps.
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Artist's Statement |
via
Chapters |
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Leap of Faith/Un acte de foi
New Brunswick College of Craft and Design Faculty Exhibition
Beaverbrook Art Gallery, Fredericton NB
April 29– September 16, 2007
Peter Powning, Curator
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International Glass Art
By Richard Wilfred Yelle
Published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd & Design
Peter Powning content Pgs 256 & 257 |
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Studio Ceramics in Canada
By Gail Crowford
Published by Goose Lane Editions in association with The Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art
Peter Powning content Pgs 55 – 57, 149 |
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Stayin' Alive – Survival Tactics for the Visual Artist
By Robin Hopper
Published by Krause Publications
Peter Powning content Pgs 46 – 49 |
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