We are very pleased to present Robert Archambeau’s (USA, 1933), 10th solo exhibition with the gallery since 1980. 

Archambeau received a Governor General’s Award for Visual and Media Arts in 2003, in recognition of his extraordinary ceramics and his contribution to the arts in Canada. For forty-five years, his work has been widely acknowledged for it’s subtle beauty and sublime complexity. Numerous exhibitions, catalogues, publications, and reviews have marked his achievements and he is currently being honoured by a major retrospective exhibition at the Winnipeg Art Gallery.  Archambeau’s work can be found in the collections of the Canada Council Art Bank, Museum of Civilization, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Gardiner Museum of Ceramic Art, Schein-Joseph International Museum of Ceramic Art, and many fine private collections around the world.

Included in this exhibition are wood-fired covered jars with bronze lids, vases and teapots that are part of the continuum of Archambeau’s life’s work. These rich, satisfying pieces embody many years of thinking about and making art. They are worlds away from, yet essentially linked to the accomplished pottery he first showed with the gallery in 1979.

An exciting feature of the exhibition will be a series of recent iris prints by the artist. In this new body of work, Archambeau has photographed frost patterns on his Bissett, Manitoba windows at various times of day. The resulting images are every bit as timeless as his pottery and reflect his strong interest and respect for the natural world.