Main Gallery: Chris Ice Bear
A Retrospective of IceBear’s Art
About the Artwork:
A retrospective of IceBear’s work spanning the past 25 years — from his early graphic designs and contemporary works of the 1990s to more recent environmentally themed pieces and vibrant abstracts. This collection showcases the evolution of IceBear’s artistic voice through a range of paintings and sculpture.
IceBear’s work explores the relationship between humankind and the natural world, deeply rooted in his spiritual connection to it. In the tradition of many Woodlands peoples and Indigenous cultures around the world, the Creator and Spirit are not separate entities, but are present within us and all living things.
About the Artist:
Ice Bear is a status member of the Chippewas of Nawash at Cape Croker at Georgian Bay in Ontario. He credits his art and the strength of the visions the Spirits and the Creator have always given him for his survival of those early years.
Born in 1953, for most of his childhood he was in the care of Indian and Northern Affairs. The essence of what makes IceBear art has been with him always; as a small child, drawings were his only means of communication. His first public art “commission”: a paper collage “stained glass window” for his church, was completed at age 10. It remained in place until the church could afford to replace it with real stained glass. Thanks to the foresight of an art teacher, and funding by Indian and Northern Affairs, he attended the Toronto Artist’s Workshop. As a teenager, Chris supplemented governmental support by creating paintings that friends sold on city streets. After high school, he attended Sheridan College, but left after after one year to join the art department of the Hudson’s Bay Company. He soon moved on to further his practical education at a series of different positions in commercial art and design.
IceBear moved to Vancouver in the early ‘80’s, to continue as an independent designer specializing in unique assignments. With his arrival on the west coast, and his acclimatization to the west coast lifestyle, his early love for fine art started to reassert itself.
Additional Programming / Events:
Opening Reception: TBD
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Cube Gallery: Linda Mercer
Better to Light a Candle
About the Artwork:
In this unique collection of 25 ceramic sculptures, I have mined the richness of folk sayings, bringing them to life as whimsical candlesticks. Each piece, hand built from stoneware clay and finished in a variety of glazes or paint, embodies a saying that has trickled down through generations over time and across cultures. An adage “when the cat’s away the mice will play”, is meant to illustrate a universal human trait, but in this body of work it’s portrayed by two happy mice intently playing a game of checkers by candlelight.
I’m drawn to the storytelling potential of ceramics and I love visual puns! The figures I create, whether human or animal, are intentionally crafted as caricatures whose gestures and expressions spark recognition and delight. With a nod to folk art traditions, these sculptures are functional and meant to bring pleasure, accessibility, and wit into the domestic realm of daily life.
About the Artist:
Working from a home studio in Victoria, BC, ceramic artist Linda Mercer creates small
batches of functional ware as well as unique sculptural pieces in stoneware clay. The
graphic quality and painterly approach to her surface decoration arise from a
background in printmaking and oil painting.
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Hallway Cases 2 and 3: Art Hive 55
Art Hive Program Work
About the Artwork / Artist:
This selection of work is from our latest Art Hive 55+ participants. Art Hive 55+ is a unique community-based program where participants 55 years and better have the opportunity to explore art and craft making in a relaxed, supportive and social environment. April Caverhill, a professional artist and instructor, leads the program and encourages participants to experiment and learn from each other. Instructor demos are also provided to assist learning and to stir the imagination! Art Hive 55+ is supported by the Victoria Foundation’s Community Grants Program.
Rear Window Case: Melanie Thompson
About the Artwork / Artist:
I want viewers to see the beauty of nature in many forms. I am a multidisciplinary visual artist. My work is materials driven and that inspires my making. My approach is experimental. I work with natural and found materials. I manipulate the material to see what it is capable of. Everything is grist for the mill. I often obtain materials with no creation in mind, the process of working with the material in an exploratory way informs my decisions of what to make, what techniques to use, what form they will take. Materials also direct the concept behind the work which leads to large installations and collaborations with other artists.
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Accessibility: Accessible washrooms, Wheelchair access, Designated handyDART loading zone and disabled parking stalls.
For inquiries related to exhibitions, please contact Shantael Sleight at shantael.sleight@saanich.ca or call 778-584-3756.