Celebrate the creative legacies of Robert and Joanne Weghsteen.
The exhibition Kiln + Canvas features ceramics, prints, paintings and ephemera that highlight Robert and Joanne’s devotion to their art and to each other.
Robert Weghsteen (1929-2015) served as a part-time instructor at the Vancouver School of Art and was a prolific ceramic artist and muralist. His work was presented in the first solo ceramics exhibition at the Vancouver Art Gallery in December 1961. Joanne Weghsteen (b. 1929) is an alum of the Vancouver School of Art, specializing in drawing and painting. Following Robert’s passing, Joanne established the Robert Weghsteen Memorial Graduate Scholarship at Emily Carr University to honour his legacy.
“Robert was an influential, forward thinking artist of the modernist movement on the west coast who expanded our horizons with his advanced ceramic installations and exceptional pottery”, wrote family friend Geoffrey Erickson in a letter to Joanne after Robert’s death. “He successfully challenged traditional styles and his fresh, liberated work was embraced by everyone who discovered it.”
Kiln + Canvas places works from the private collection of Robert and Joanne’s in public. It is a chance to see how their two distinct practices have lived in dialogue throughout their lifetime.