Elaborate: Sketches in Glaze

About

“The tree of life, or sacred tree, is an enduring image used throughout history and across cultures to depict the interconnectedness of life. The tree is a symbol of growth, fertility, decay, death, and rebirth, it is a resource providing nourishment, shelter, medicine, and a metaphor for knowledge and immortality. My tile panel shows the many aspects of a tree’s life, celebrating the marvel and resilience of an organism that endures for centuries. Continuing in the tradition of architectural adornment, drawing on the history of decorative ceramic art, botanical illustration, and fantasy, I hope to evoke a sense of wonder and provide an occasion for discovery and reflection.” – Marc Egan

Part of the larger exhibition, Elaborate. Curated by Melanie Egan.

Curatorial Statement

“If you want to understand and appreciate ceramic ornamentation, be prepared to wade into vast waters. You start by researching when humans started making marks on clay objects and gradually come up to the present day; a daunting task, filled with millions of objects, over thousands of years and best left to someone else. This exhibition is but a part of the greater story of decorated ceramics. It celebrates the work of five artists who are fearless when it comes to ornament and affirm decoration is non-negotiable! Their work is the ultimate antidote to Adolf Loos’ famous (infamous?) 1913 essay, “Ornament is Crime”, in which he characterized ornament as “degenerate”.  

“Elaborate” is both adjective and verb. It is a descriptor – a complicated arrangement of parts and details – and an action – to develop or explain something in detail – both are at play in the exhibition. The artists’ aesthetic influences, be they abstract or representational, merge with contemporary issues and ideas; using decoration as an investigative framework. 

Acutely aware of ornament’s associations – frivolous, superficial, other, and gendered, these artists subvert and counteract deprecating stereotypes. Each has developed a distinct “decorative vocabulary” to invigorate surfaces, forms, and ideas. Their works are effusive, confrontational, expressive, and non-apologetic – espousing more-is-more and kicking Mr. Loos to the curb.” – Melanie Egan, Director of Craft & Design, Harbourfront Centre

About Marc Egan

Marc Egan is a ceramic artist living and working in Toronto, Canada. His studio practice includes the production of pottery, sculpture and tile, as well as extensive material research. Egan also works with artists as a ceramic technical advisor.

Egan studied ceramics at Sheridan College, School of Craft and Design and is currently teaching in the ceramics program at Sheridan College. He is the recipient of many grants and awards including the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics (2003) and was an Artist-in-Residence at Harbourfront Centre (1991-1994). His work is in numerous private collections and in the collections of the Gardiner Museum and Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto and the Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo.