Gordon Hutchens – Potter

Terms like “master artisan” get used perhaps too casually these days, what with everyone promoting themselves on the Internet, but in Gordon Hutchens’ case, this descriptor is richly deserved.

Gordon has been making ceramic art for over five decades. His career includes over 25 one-man shows and over 100 group exhibitions across Canada and the US, with three major exhibitions in Japan; he is widely respected internationally as an educator; and his work is displayed in permanent collections such as the Bronfman family’s Claridge Collection, the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria, the Burlington Art Centre, and the Canadian Museum of Civilization.

In 2019, Gordon was honoured with a Creative Achievement Award of Distinction Carter Wosk Award in Applied Art and Design from the BC Achievement Foundation.

The epicentre of this illustrious artist’s work is a simple hand-built studio nestled in the Denman Island rainforest next to Gordon’s home.  Here, in Gordon’s elegantly lit gallery, visitors can see the range of his work, from museum-scale showpieces to functional pots, vases, platters, and mugs, and chat with about his techniques and inspirations.

Gordon formulates and blends all his own clay, using many different varieties from across North America and England, including clay from his own property. Seaweed, smoke, salt, and wood ash are some of the natural ingredients used in his unique glazes, known for their shimmering lustre and velvety iridescence.

“I get excited by the power of heat, the way fire brings about the transformation, the metamorphosis of elements I’ve combined into something new,” says Gordon.

Ceramics is a bit like alchemy, he says. “Both disciplines are about the transmutation of minerals and metals. You take a pinch of this and pinch of that, add high heat, and transformation happens.”

Visit Gordon at his Studio: 4031 Wren Rd, Denman Island, Mon – Sat, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.

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