Conversational Tour of Don Hutchinson and Ying-Yueh Chuang: Passages

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Cost: Free

Please join us for a conversational tour of the exhibition Don Hutchinson and Ying-Yueh Chuang: Passages with participating artist Ying-Yueh and Surrey Art Gallery curators Jordan Strom with Suvi Bains.

Innovation and experimentation have been important features in the clay-based practices of Ying-Yueh Chuang and the late Don Hutchinson. While their work is quite different, each artist has drawn inspiration from the natural world to create evocative forms and figures. Both of their respective practices have been deeply informed by their experiences as teachers, as well as by time spent in Surrey and its vibrant ceramic arts culture. While there is a shared interest in pattern, glazing and hand-building, Ying-Yueh’s work is frequently based on geometries marked by their symmetries and fine plant-like forms. Hutchinson’s interest in the natural world is often based on inspiration from animal and, in particular, a wide variety of birds species.

In both cases, the artists have found ways to combine both whimsy and elegance to create distinct figures and compelling worlds. Don Hutchinson and Ying-Yueh Chuang: Passages brings together selections of sculptural works in clay by both Hutchinson and Chuang. The exhibition runs from February 22 to June 14, 2020.

About Don Hutchinson
Prior to his passing in 2018, South Surrey based ceramic artist Don Hutchinson’s career spanned over 50 years. He began his career in the late sixties in production ware, with a focus on bowls, cups, plates, and jugs. Several of his early works will be included in this exhibition. Hutchinson was known for his passion and devotion to sourcing his material—including the minerals for his glazes—from within British Columbia. His work was also deeply informed by an interest in the ancient cultures of Turkey, Crete, Sicily, Japan and Korea (his extensive global travel mirrored these geographically dispersed interests). These influences informed Hutchinson’s functional ware along with his often very technically challenging sculptural and mythological works. Hutchinson spent 30 years at Langara College as a ceramics teacher and is a former president of the Potters Guild of B.C. He was a recipient of the Surrey Civic Treasure in 2014.

About Ying-Yueh Chuang
Ying-Yueh Chuang came to Canada from Taiwan in the early 1990s. She received a diploma of Fine Arts from Langara College, Vancouver, a BFA from Emily Carr University of Art + Design, Vancouver, and a Master's degree in Ceramics from NSCAD University, Halifax. Following graduation, she was a resident artist at Harbourfront Centre, Toronto for three years. She has taught ceramics at NSCAD University, Ontario College of Art and Design University, University of Regina, and Sheridan College. She is currently teaching at Kwantlen Polytechnic University in Surrey. Chuang has exhibited locally, nationally and internationally in both juried and invitational exhibitions She was the 2006 recipient of the Winifred Shantz National Emerging Artist Award for Ceramists, Canada.
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