Marking the Surface

Marking the Surface: Ceramics in Dialogue with Drawing

The Dieppe arts and Culture Centre will soon present Marking the Surface, a group exhibition bringing together five artists from Quebec and New Brunswick: Dan Brault, Catherine Lebel Ouellet, Cynthia Dinan-Mitchell, Michael Wood, and Sara Griffin. This unique exhibition explores the relationship between contemporary drawing and contemporary ceramics through a collaborative, experimental, and interdisciplinary approach.

Situated at the intersection of two historically distinct practices: drawing on paper and ceramic objects. The exhibition examines the surface as a site of mark-making, gesture, and inscription. By integrating graphic processes directly onto ceramic forms, the artists challenge the boundaries between image, sculpture, and object while investigating the expressive potential of drawing when it migrates onto a three-dimensional support.

The exhibition will present a dialogue between works on paper and ceramic pieces created specifically for the project. Plates, vessels, bowls, and sculptural forms become surfaces upon which drawing unfolds through a variety of techniques. The artists will explore ceramic screen printing with underglaze, underglaze pencil drawing, carving, textural treatments, and a range of experimental firing methods inspired by raku and combustible material carbonization. Heat, smoke, and chemical reactions will actively participate in the creation of images and surfaces, producing results that are both sensitive and unpredictable.

A strong collaborative dimension lies at the heart of the project. Bringing together artists from different geographic regions and artistic backgrounds, the exhibition fosters the exchange of techniques, knowledge, and ideas surrounding contemporary drawing and ceramic practices. This process will be enriched by the participation of Michael Wood, Director of the Dieppe Ceramic Centre, and Catherine Lebel Ouellet, former Director of the Sainte-Foy Ceramic Centre and ceramics instructor at the Maison des métiers d’art de Québec. Their technical expertise will support the development of the artworks and encourage experimentation throughout the project.

By relocating drawing onto ceramic objects, Marking the Surface also questions traditional distinctions between craft and contemporary visual art. The exhibition offers a reflection on materiality, transformation, and the role of the object within the exhibition space. The works move fluidly between function, sculpture, and image, creating hybrid territories where conventional artistic categories become increasingly porous.

Presenting the exhibition in Dieppe also serves as an opportunity to strengthen artistic exchanges between Quebec and Acadian cultural communities. By encouraging the circulation of artists and ideas across provincial borders, the project contributes to the visibility of contemporary artistic practices while fostering meaningful connections between artists, institutions, and audiences.

The exhibition will take the form of an immersive installation combining wall-based works and ceramic pieces displayed on pedestals. The coexistence of paper and clay within the gallery space will generate rich visual dialogues, revealing formal, material, and gestural correspondences between the two mediums. Visitors will be invited to observe the migration of drawing from one surface to another and to reflect on the transformations that occur when the graphic gesture encounters ceramic material.

Through this approach, Marking the Surface seeks to offer a thoughtful reflection on trace, materiality, and the expanded possibilities of contemporary drawing. Through collaboration, experimentation, and the meeting of disciplines, the exhibition aims to renew perceptions of ceramics and open a space for dialogue between craft traditions and contemporary visual art practices.