Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery-Galerie

April 2017 – Thank you!

By Jonathon Bancroft-Snell

“It’s hard to believe that it has been seventeen years since the gallery opened on April 6th, 2000. There was little inventory and a huge space yet I decided I was going to specialize in Canadian art. Boy, was I an innocent abroad. An interesting thing about naivete is it can propel you in a way that only those willing to accept an empirical approach can understand. Looking back if I had known what I was getting myself into I may have chosen a retail job at Sears. Instead I opted for the rollercoaster ride of my life.

The Jonathon Bancroft-Snell Gallery has evolved into Canada’s leading national gallery focusing on ceramic art. The exhibition that most defines the gallery is Matter of Clay held every five years in August. The initial Matter of Clay exhibition, held in 2001, was the first major national exhibition held in decades. Planning the exhibition is where my naivete really came into play. I looked at pictures and sent letters to artists whose work appealed to me. I was fortunate to have Ontario artist Shirley Clifford act as my guide, Soon I had acceptances from across the country from icons such as Ann Mortimer, Walter Dexter, Goyer-Bonneau, Karen Dahl, Reed Weir, and Peter Powning to name a few. The exhibition was a huge success. During an introspective post-analysis I was struck by how Canada’s biggest ceramics stars had agreed to participate. I was a nobody and totally unknown yet I’d had success in attracting major artists to participate. I made a choice. The gallery was going to focus on promoting ceramic art in Canada.

Over the years there have been solo shows, group shows, themed shows and retrospectives. The difficulty with identifying highlights is akin to choosing a favourite child. Each year has been an incredible gift with every show feeling like a kiln opening. The crates would arrive and opening them provoked a chorus of oohs and aahs and the occasional expletive when a piece arrived broken. Over all it was always a magical experience that would play out over and over when people arrived at the opening. It is rewarding to see ceramic artists treated like rock stars by collectors appreciative of their work.

Seventeen years to look back on in a long time. There are however two shows that really stick out in my mind. The first was Walter Dexter’s solo show in August 2007. The show featured his Torso vases, a body of work begun in 1996, arguably his most significant body of work. It was a culmination of a long and illustrious career. I can still hear him saying to me in January of 2007, “I guess we’d better do this while I’m still alive to enjoy it.” He enjoyed it! The show was magic and attendance opening night was a who’s who of ceramic glitterati.

The second show was ‘Upstarts’ in 2010 featuring work by the frontrunners in the clay arts movement in Canada. These were the artists, still living, born before 1940. The artists who went on to teach, influence, and inspire subsequent generations of ceramicists. There were twenty-four artists in the show. A bittersweet, yet illuminating, memory of the exhibition was Roman Bartkiw’s acceptance. He was thrilled to be asked and included in an exhibition that as he put it ‘includes so many of my friends’. Sadly, Roman passed away the same day of a heart attack, a poignant reminder of the reality that these were Canada’s senior artists. Since 2010 John Chalke, Walter Dexter, Dean Mullavey, Maurice Savoie and Tom Smith have also passed away. Many of the others have retired from making.

I have been so privileged to have had the opportunity to meet so many extraordinary artists. Their legacy is incredible. I have also been fortunate that since 2004 Brian Cooke, my gallery manager, has exhibited the same passion for Canadian ceramics as me. In January 2018 at the Tom Thomson Gallery in Owen Sound he will be curating “Anatomy of a Collector’ featuring selections from nine ceramic collections.

Owning a ceramic gallery is, in some ways, like being a maker. You never know what new surprises await when you open the door. To everyone who has created and supported the gallery I just want to say; “Thanks!” ~ Jonathon

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