Charlie Larouche-Potvin

Montreal-born Charlie Larouche-Potvin is a glassblower, artist and designer. He graduated from Espace Verre in 2020. He developed his technique through professional workshop and assistant work, especially in Murano, Italy, where he began his ongoing work with Maestro Davide Fuin. He has continued to travel internationally, serving as associate-in-residence at the Jam Factory in Adelaide, Australia and visiting artist at Sheridan College, Ontario and at the Chrysler Museum in Norfolk, Virginia. His expertise has also earned him several scholarships, prizes, and mentions. He was awarded the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery’s RBC Award in Glass as well as the François Houdé Award from the city of Montréal. He as shown internationally at Révélation in Paris and Contemporania in Barcelona.

To work with glass is to be in relationship with molten matter, an exchange that was learned in Murano and remains the source of my growth as an artist. This creative correspondence with the material manifests in my work, which explores forms inspired by Venetian tradition. Each piece reflects the harmony of my collaboration with glass. Their irregularities – in form, proportion, or process – become central to this representation, as they testify to the constant evolution of this union with the material. This critical reappraisal of traditional Muranese forms has also been fertile ground for imaginative play.

The technical precision of these functional works necessitates my perfection of proportion, construction, and balance, while their fanciful adornments allow me to explore the aesthetic worlds of the supernatural films, books, and games that have always fascinated me. Whether it’s in simplicity or extravagance, I am always exploring new ways to engage the material peculiarities of glass in articulations of traditional Venetian forms. By bridging the gap between function and fantasy, my works tell both new stories and stories of the past in order to simultaneously honour my predecessors and carry our art into the future.

Larouche-Potvin became an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre in 2023.