| Gary Merkel |
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Originally from Thunder Bay, Ontario he is now based equally in Victoria, British Columbia and Montreal, Quebec. Gary has been working in clay for over 20 years. He has participated in many workshops nationally and internationally. Although he has completed many various clay related studies; he primarily is self-taught. He divides his time between the two cities, which allow him to experiment and design work, that are influenced by the diverse culture and energy of east coast and west coast. Throughout his career as a ceramicist, Gary has dedicated himself solely to hand building and hand forming techniques. He finds this method almost limitless. Gary treats his original forms like pure white canvases, which project his ideas and feelings through his painting and applying of coloured slips and under glazes. His current passion are teapots, they portray the constant interplay between man, nature and his surrounding environment. Gary’s teapots can be found in the publication 500 Teapots: Contemporary Explorations of a Timeless Design as well as the 2004 Gardiner Museum show “The Artful Teapot”. His artwork also graces the front desk and the grand dining room of the Hilton Hotel and Casino complex in Ottawa. Selected Exhibitions 2008 ‘’Fired Up,’ group exhibition and sale, Metchosin, BC ‘Art in Bloom,’ Victoria Art Gallery, Victoria, BC 2007 ‘Mad Hatter’s Tea Party’, Armory Art Centre, West Palm Beach, FL ‘Fired Up’, annual exhibition and sale, Metchosin, BC Tea Four Two, Petroff Gallery, Toronto, ON 2006 ‘Matter of Clay II’, invitational group exhibition, Johnathon’s, London, ON ‘Fired Up’, group exhibition, Clakamas College Gallery, Portland, Oregon 2005 ‘Telephone Project’, Xchanges Gallery, Victoria, BC ‘Sculptural Vessels’, Fran Willis Gallery, Victoria, BC 2004 ‘The Artful Teapot’, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic’s exhibition, Toronto, Ontario ‘Diversi Tea’, Gallery of B.C. Ceramics, Solo Teapot Exhibition, Vancouver BC ‘Tea is Served’, sculptural teapots, Petroff Gallery, Toronto, ON 2003 ‘Centered on Clay 3’, William’s Street clay studio member’s annual exhibition of new works, 2002 Group Exhibition with glass artist Dale Chilhuly and Canadian clay and glass artists, Hilton, Ottawa/Hull ’13 Artists Transcending Borders’, Canadian Embassy Gallery, Washington, DC 2000 ‘New Technology in Clay’, Fired Up, Victoria, BC ‘1001 Pots’, tenth annual exhibition sale, Val David, Montreal, PQ Corporate Collections and Commissions Contemporary Studio Ceramics, Permanent Collection of the Winnipeg Art Gallery Permanent collection, Art Gallery of greater Victoria Private collection, Ambassador to Turkey Agenda Management Services: Toronto, Panellist and individual speaker gift presentations Ministry of External Affairs, Diplomatic Gifts, Vancouver B.C. Claridge Inc. Collection, Montreal; Private Publications Sabord magazine, (creation litteraire et visuelle.) Trois-Rivieres, Quebec. Making marks, Krause Book Publications, Robin Hopper, author Focus Magazine, Book Review-Ontario, Canada, 2003
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