EXHIBITIONS
Many lower mainland galleries will host ceramic based exhibitions to coincide with the symposium. Please stay tuned.
Please contact: exhibition.canadianclay@gmail.com if you have exhibitions around the time of the symposium.
Punchlines & Porcelain: Deadpan on a Wet Clay Coast
Venue: Kasko Gallery, 560 Clark Drive, Vancouver, BC
Curator: Kate Metten
Artists/Performers: Aaron Read & Ehren Salazar — the creative duo behind Little Mountain Studios and founding members of Vancouver’s contemporary comedy scene
Mediums: Large porcelain ceramic vessels with graphic illustration and text; accompanying framed gouache drawings on paper
Date: March 7–April 5, 2026 (to bracket the March 21 Symposium)
Opening Reception: March 14, 2026
Public Programs: Artist talk + short comedic performance and live drawing demo during Symposium week (March 20–22 window)
Concept & Rationale
Punchlines & Porcelain brings clay into direct conversation with drawing, performance, and graphic storytelling. Read and Salazar translate the pace and timing of stand-up—setup, pause, and punchline—into illustrated ceramic surfaces. The vessels act as stages: looping lines, wordplay, and sight-gags wrap around thrown forms, asking viewers to “turn” the joke in the round. Paired gouache drawings function like storyboards, revealing how a comedic beat becomes a motif, then a pot. The exhibition highlights clay’s elasticity as both material and medium for social commentary, situating pottery within Vancouver’s living comedy culture.
Why This Exhibition for the Symposium
· Direct conversation with clay: Porcelain vessels Surface, form, and firing are central illustration is integrated through underglaze, slips, and clear coats; some vessels will feature sgraffito and inlay.
· Cross-disciplinary dialogue: The project bridges studio pottery, illustration, and performance, inviting Symposium attendees to consider humour as a formal device in ceramic practice.
· Local relevance: Aaron Read and Ehren Salazar are key contributors to Vancouver’s comedy community (Little Mountain Studios), and the show spotlights a distinctly Vancouver voice within contemporary clay. As a curator, I am to introduce ceramics to local comedians following the footsteps of local legend Seth Rogan.
· Our studio at City Centre Artist Lodge will be torn down within 2026 and this exhibition provides an opportunity to showcase the collaboration that has taken place over the past years working side by side as studio mates.
Kinship
Venue: SUM gallery + Queer Arts Festival
#425 - 268 Keefer St., Vancouver BC V6A 1X5
Ph. 604 200 6661
Curator: Jai Sallay-Carrington
Artists: Jai Sallay-Carrington, Rojina Farrokhnejad, and Pedram Penham
Date: March 19 - April 24, 2026
Kinship responds to the symposium theme, "How Hard Can It Be?", by celebrating trans artists, whose community has been subjected to an alarming rise in hateful rhetoric and erasure across North America. By centering six trans ceramic artists, this exhibition provides visibility for a community that is both a thriving part of Canadian clay artistry and a central pillar of our 2SLGBTQIA+ family. With this in mind, our Kinship exhibition dates coincide with both the Canadian Clay symposium (March 21 - 23, 2026) and Transgender Day of Visibility (March 31, 2026). In the words of curator Jai Sallay-Carrington:
Community is integral for LGBTQ+ people, and we can argue that the Clay community shares that need and strength in community. The challenges and experiences that bring a powerful sense of connection to each of these communities differ, but the overlap cannot be overlooked. So, when we ask “How Hard Can It Be?” the answer is; hard! But easier with support and people to share in the experiences.
About Jai Sallay-Carrington
Jai Sallay-Carrington is a figurative ceramic sculptor creating works about human identities, behaviour and emotions using anthropomorphic creatures. Reflecting on their queer and transgender identity, Jai creates sculptures which uplift 2SLGBTQIA + communities as well as challenge and analyze the dominant heteronormative and cisgendered society. They question the role that gender, sexuality and desire have in forming an individual’s character and placement within their culture. Jai’s sculptures speak to a feeling of otherness, not through visible physical traits, but through the hidden aspects of identity. These identities exist within, they are either shared or kept a secret. The zoomorphic qualities of their sculptures shed light on those human characteristics hidden from the naked eye. As each animal comes with its own unique qualities, as well as the myths and stories associated with them, when anthropomorphized, their addition to the human form creates a deeper understanding of that individual’s persona and experiences. For more information: www.jscreatures.com
About SUM gallery
As one of the only permanent spaces worldwide dedicated to the presentation of Queer art, SUM gallery brings diverse communities together to support artistic risk-taking, incite creative collaboration and experimentation, and celebrate the rich heritage of Queer artists and art. Founded in 2018 as the year-round programming arm of Vancouver’s summer Queer Arts Festival, SUM produces, presents and exhibits challenging, thought-provoking multidisciplinary art that pushes boundaries and initiates dialogue. For more information: www.sumgallery.ca
