Gary Uchikura continues a multidisciplinary practice in drawing, painting, sculpture and ceramics. He was educated in Agricultural Science at Olds College, The University of Guelph and Chiba University in Japan. Feeling the call to study art, he stepped away from an agricultural career in 2016 to dive headlong into artistic study. While his interests are many, his current work in ceramics is all consuming. While he focuses on the Japanese aesthetic and wheel thrown vessels, he is ready to explore any compelling direction in the ceramic tradition. Uchikura has had work on display at The University of Lethbridge, Penny Gallery, CASA, and SAAG.

ARTIST STATEMENT

For me, clay is like language or food, we find things to appreciate in its variety, similarity, and simplicity of function. Looking deeply, we discover we are all connected and share common threads and origins, and that, I find, is beautiful.

All art carries some autobiographical context. I hope to explore themes that we all share and relate to. I like to start with the wheel thrown vessel, and add variation through intuitive aesthetic interventions. By distorting the ceramic formula, and rearranging my expectations of symmetry, I settle into a kind of play with the substance.

Student Award  May 2019