Greg Payce: "ILLUSIONS' Gardiner Museum, Toronto, February 2 to May 6, 2012
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Videography by Rod Stuart
Greg Payce, "Albedo Lux: Europa"
Greg Payce, "Albedo Lux: Europa", 2009 DVD of image projection onto rotating ceramic forms
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Collection of the artist
Greg Payce, "The Customs and the Spirit of the Nations: Occident"
Greg Payce, "The Customs and the Spirit of the Nations: Occident", 2011 Lenticular image of ceramics 100 cm high x 117 cm wide
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Collections of the AFA, Gardiner Museum and the artist
Greg Payce, "Valhalla"
Greg Payce, "Valhalla", 2011 Thrown porcelain forms with coloured slip banding produced from 2005 - 2011 Dimensions variable – will require 304 cm x 153 cm oval base Dedicated to Valerie Leigh
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Videography by Rod Stuart
Greg Payce, "Albedo Lux: Europa"
Greg Payce, "Albedo Lux: Europa", 2009 DVD of image projection onto rotating ceramic forms
Greg Payce: Illusions
Gardiner Museum, Toronto
February 2 to May 6, 2012
By Douglas Maclean
As visitors to Toronto make their way to the Royal Ontario Museum, they often miss the wonderful small Gardiner Museum across the street. There it sits, a work of architectural perfection, quietly housing one of the most phenomenal collections of ceramics in all of Canada. Built by philanthropist George Gardiner and his wife Helen in 1984, the museum is truly a hidden gem.
It is this “gem” that is presenting an exhibition that should be seen by all Canadians and visitors. We in the west should also acknowledge the brilliance of Calgary artist Greg Payce’s independent vision of what ceramics are and what they can be, as well as the curation of Amy Gogarty, an ex-Calgarian, now residing in Vancouver. A painter herself, Gogarty shows a subtle, challenging style in her curation of this important show.
Payce’s creations first came into my view many years ago when my wife brought two of his works home to add to her growing collection of ceramics. Beautiful and elegant, surprising in the seemingly fragile material, both works amaze me to this day. I began to follow his work at the Prime Gallery, Toronto (now closed) and watch the changes in his creations. When the “figurative factor” as I call it came into view, it became fascinating. So on a recent visit to Toronto, the chance to see 40 years of Payce’s work in one place was too much to pass by.
Walking through the doors, I was immediately introduced to a large window box displaying small sketches, materials, bits of colour, notes and all the studio paraphernalia that surrounds Payce, enriching his conception of ceramics. It was a thought-provoking introduction of what was to come.
To the immediate right is Payce’s first negative figure porcelain work “White Vase Pair” (2004). A video box was also in place featuring “Conjunction” (2005) a video consisting of spinning porcelain vessels which gives a hint of how his practice would evolve beyond the creation of art as an object.
Proceed up the broad concrete stairs to the second floor and into the Gardiner’s historical collection housed in a small square area called the Focus Gallery. Surrounded by incredible ceramics from all over the world were glass cases featuring various periods of Payce’s exploration. The sensitivity and recognition of chosen pieces established a firm connection between historical ceramic-making and Payce’s contemporary work. The curator’s insightful connections between past and present are prevalent throughout the exhibition.
Ascending to the third floor, I was astounded by just how well Payce’s pieces work with the architecture of the gallery. The vast space was perfect for displaying Payce’s lenticular images. Most of us are familiar with the lenticular images found in tourist shops - that Christian cross which changes to Jesus or a landscape that transforms into a waterfall. But to see these large scale prints of his figurative negative space ceramics move across the surface, is unlike anything I have ever seen. The actual ceramic works were so well selected and placed you easily capture the artist’s vision.
For example, “Valhalla” (2011), inspired by Payce’s travels to Korea, is a forest of delicate forms and robust colour from one perspective and yet suggests Pagoda architecture from another. This work was six years in the making and is now part of the Gardiner Museum collection. Another stellar exploration of lenticular imagery is the work “The Customs and Spirit of the Nations” (2011). It is a series of four individually titled images, each using two vessel forms creating a profile of a “victorian” male head and behind that a variety of imagery inspired by Voltaire, Mexican table ware, and oriental decoration, creating another layer of historical and personal iconography. The depth of Payce’s reference to the past is again apparent and thoughtful.
With references to Voltaire, Eadweard Muybridge, ancient cultures of Greece, Minoa, China, Korea and beyond, Payce has taken ceramics well beyond what was once viewed as craft. That fact was indeed confirmed as I entered the final gallery. The walls had floor to ceiling projected images revealing not only his sculptural ceramic forms but a layering and transformative imagery of all the historical inspirations that seem to have taken Payce to this point. Fascinating, and incredible to watch, I was trying to capture all the information when I finally succumbed to just enjoying the experience.
Payce has opened a new trove of ideas with his video explorations. His combination of wheel-thrown vessels, historical images, light and colour into large scale video projections is impressive. One other piece of note in this gallery lies quietly on the floor. It’s a carpet, but not just any carpet. This one is dedicated to Helen Gardiner and upon it Payce projects moving images of scenes taken from the historical collections. It is a “moving” tribute to the couple that made the museum possible in more ways than one.
Throughout the third floor gallery are other examples of Payce’s past works dating back to 1992. The progression of ideas and the artist’s devotion to creativity are apparent in each and every work. The exhibition catalogue (there is an original surprise in every one) is a comprehensive documentation of the art and Gogarty’s brilliant insights. It should be in every ceramic enthusiast’s library.
