Artist’s Statement:

I am a ceramicist and I am openly addicted to clay. I produce work that has a strong connection to popular culture and embraces traditions in ceramics. The sculptures I create are inspired by kitsch figurines, especially Red Rose’s Wade figurines and miniatures, and include cultural icons and reference popular movements to create a narrative within my work. It is important to me that I include humor in my work and it is often impish or sarcastic and is sometimes politically charged. I also like to make things creepy and disturbing. Each series I do is very different from the previous and each explores a topic which is influenced by my passions or movements in contemporary culture which I feel I need to make a comment on.

 

Artist’s Biography:

Kathleen McGiveron's work uses the idea of ceramic figurines to present her reflections on popular culture, politics and contemporary movements. McGiveron graduated from Emily Carr University of Art and Design in 2011, completed her teaching degree at Simon Fraser University in 2012 and currently teaches Visual Arts to students in the Langley School District. McGiveron was represented by the SMASH Gallery of Modern Art in Vancouver from 2012 to when it closed in 2013, and is currently a gallery artist in the Gallery of B.C. Ceramics.

McGiveron is the founder of the Contemporary Ceramic Collective and is a board member of the B.C. Potters guild.

McGiveron’s work has been exhibited in Vancouver and Langley. Her latest shows were at the SMASH Gallery of Modern Art where she participated in the exhibition “4 Artists who don’t know you either” (2012), “Feature Artist” at the Gallery of B.C. Ceramics (2013), “Put A Bird On It” (2014) at the Gallery of B.C. Ceramics, “The Art Market” (2014) at Emily Carr University, and “Feature Creature” (2014) at The FALL Tattoo and Artist’s Gallery, and “Robots and Monsters” (2014) at the Ayden Gallery.