At the Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art a new exhibition opened this week (June 18) that consists of pieces of modern ceramics, i.e. works that are less than a hundred years old, but especially works created after 1950. Called Life Taking Shape: Ceramics from the Aaron Milrad Collection, they were collected by a Toronto lawyer, who during his student days took night classes in pottery at the Ontario College of Art. While he made arts and cultural law his career, ceramics became his passion. In 1999, Milrad donated more than 90 works of international contemporary ceramics to the Gardiner Museum, and the present exhibit is the first showing of these works as a group to the public.

They are eye-catching pieces of great individuality. Each has its specific charm, or attraction. Some are whimsical, others are dramatic. But, whichever way one wants to look at them, the majority speak of the nature of clay. It comes through the glazes, through the shapes, and through the colours. As Milrad stated, “Clay is such a living thing. It brings into play all four elements – earth, fire, water and air.”

Enter the exhibition and right away you are drawn to two large stoneware wall plates on the wall to the left of the entrance. Created by the late American artist, Peter Volkos, in the 1990s, they speak dramatically of the material from which they were created. They are a deep brown, and are roughly textured, which emphasize their organic origin, yet they are uniquely sophisticated and utterly appealing – especially to anyone who loves the material from which they are made. And opposite these works, as the wall curves into the exhibition, hangs another piece that immediately grabs one’s attention with its sense of material weight. Its creator is Margie Hughto, who is known for her site-specific work. Among these is her ceramic subway installation at the World Trade Tower II, which miraculously survived the 9/11 tragedy, and which now is housed in New York’s Museum of Natural History.

On the right hand of the entrance hangs another huge plate, which is very different from the Volkos and Hughto works. Created by another American, Viola Frey, it is playful and colourful. It features, in high relief, a number of objects that include hands, heads, an elephant, and a horse among others. She evokes a child’s world with these objects, but the manner in which they are displayed on the plate, one senses the playfulness has a serious intent.

Of the 43 artists represented in the exhibition, 23 are from the USA and 11 from Canada. There are also five British artists represented in the show, and one each from Germany, Holland, Austria, and Japan. The Austrian is the late Lucie Rie, who worked in England alongside of her work partner, the German Hans Coper. In the process they became leaders in the revolution that turned the former craft of pottery into the art of ceramics. Her beautiful, almost ethereal, pink bowl is a piece that one can definitely covet, even if one is not a collector.

The three most well-known Canadians in this exhibition are Victor Cicansky, Steven Heinemann and Harlan House. Both Cicansky and House have for many years been in the permanent collection of the Burlington Art Centre. In this show, Cicansky is represented by one of his playful vegetables on a couch works called Armchair Garden, as well as a less commonly seen piece, a white earthenware plate that has bas relief features created from, what else, vegetables.

One of the elder statesmen of ceramic art is the American Ken Ferguson, who became a teacher of Steven Heinemann, is represented by a number of works, among them two light coloured plates on which the female figure has been brushed in a manner reminiscent of Japanese brushwork. These are highly erotic images that seem to emphasize the sensuality of working with clay and brush.

Another Canadian, Bruce Cochrane, produced an elegant teapot that simply invites a desire to partake in the pleasure of tea drinking. Cochrane, like the majority of the Canadians is of a generation born after 1950. Only House, whose work is of great elegance and delicacy, and Cicansky were born prior to the boomer age. It seems to support the notion that in Canada ceramic art is still a fairly young art, but a highly vigorous one.

Regrettably, this exhibition is on view only to July 27, 2003. Take time to go and see it soon as it is highly important because of its contemporariness. The Gardiner has a reputation as a museum of fine ceramics from another age. With this show, it is entering into a new phase. Pieces from the Milrad collection will eventually be featured in the Gardiner’s new contemporary gallery that will be part of the museum’s expansion planned for construction in 2004.