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BIO AND ARTIST STATEMENT
François Grenier artist - Photo: Scott Taylor

I’m an emerging ceramic artist working in both abstract and figurative sculpture. Clay responds to my vision with immediacy and depth—its plasticity, resistance, and responsiveness to touch keep me fully engaged. I’m especially drawn to the interplay of form and texture, where surface becomes a language in itself.

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My practice is informed by artists across disciplines, as well as by social justice and the human condition. I’m influenced by the gestural energy of Abstract Expressionism and the clarity of geometric abstraction—two opposing forces that shape my formal and conceptual language.

Material research is essential to my work. I develop ceramic surfaces through experimental methods that push aesthetic boundaries, often working directly with raw materials to explore their chemistry and behaviour. These surfaces aren’t traditional glazes—they are crusts, built through testing, failure, and persistence.

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Each piece arises from a layered process that blends intuition, research, and conceptual inquiry. Architecture, science, literature, and design intersect in my work, but I strive to let each piece evolve according to its own demands rather than a fixed style.

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Eclecticism is intentional. My body of work reflects the complexity of the world I respond to. Through sculpture, I aim to create materially rich, visually compelling objects that lean toward contemporary fine art rather than craft. I want my work to offer presence, tension, and a new way of seeing.

Video documentary by filmmaker Stiven Agoubi where I talk about my practice as an artist and my art projects. 9 minutes. Filmed in 2022.

Media

Interview

A radio interview with Radio Canada on June 17th, 2023 where I talk about my solo exhibition: Trimorphism - the interview is in French. 17 minutes long.

Newpapers

Read the article published in the Chatham Daily News of February 21st, 2023, and Chatham-Kent This Week of February 23rd, 2023 where I talk about making it as a finalist for the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023.

Download press kit

​Finalist for the prestigious Winfred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023.

Award
CV

Education

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Self-directed, and:

Pottery and ceramics classes at the Roundhouse Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC:

  • Sue Griese: instructor, beginner pottery, January to March 2016

  • Nora Vailant: instructor, intermediate pottery, April to May 2016

  • Cheryl Stapleton: instructor, ceramic surface treatment, July, and August 2016

  • Vin Arora: instructor, building in multiple modules and designing sets, July to December 2016

 

College

  • Emily Carr University of Art and Design, Vancouver, BC: The Business of Art Practice (elective), June 2017; instructor: Annie Briard

 

Workshops

  • Painting with Clay: surface treatment using slips, instructor: Lesley McInally, July 2018

 

Exhibitions

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Solo show

  • Trimorphism – solo show – ARTspace – Chatham, Ontario – June 14 to September 2, 2023 

 

Group shows

  • Eye for Art 2024 – juried group show – Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, Ontario, November 18, 2024, to January 14, 2025

  • ​Breaking Barriers – Group show – Leamington Arts Centre  –Leamington, Ontario – October 4 to October 29, 2023

  • Fusion Fireworks 2023 – juried travelling group show – February 27 to November 1, 2023

  • Emergence – as one of the three finalist of the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023, exhibiting along side the two other finalists – The Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery – Waterloo, ON – May 20 to September 17, 2023

  • ​​Eye for Art 2022 – juried group show – Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON – November 18, 2022 to January 14, 2023

  • Zip Code: Annual Juried Exhibition – juried group show – Leamington Arts Centre – Leamington, ON – October 18 to November 13, 2022

  • ​The FIL Collective – ONE – Due to the Covid 19 lockdown, we exhibited in the window of the gallery at ARTspace, Chatham, ON – May 7 - June 18, 2021.  The FIL Collective is François Grenier (myself), Isabelle Milot, potter, and Lisa Sylvestre, textile artist

  • ​The FIL Collective – ONE – Due to the Covid 19, we exhibited only in the window instead of the whole Gallery, Windsor, ON – March 22 - April 11, 2021. The FIL Collective is François Grenier (myself), Isabelle Milot - potter, and Lisa Sylvestre - textile artist

  • ​Ontario Juried Exhibition 2019 – juried group show – Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON – October 25, 2019 - January 5, 2020.

  • ​Fuel – group show (5 artists invitational) – Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON – August 30th to October 20th, 2019

  • Surface – group show – private residence, Chatham, ON – April 27th and 28th, 2019 

  • ’tis the Season – 100 Artists, 100 Works, 100 Dollars! – Juried group show – Sarah Beveridge Contemporary – Windsor, ON – November 21st to December 22nd, 2018

  • Eye for Art 2019 – juried group show – Thames Art Gallery, Chatham, ON – November 23rd, 2018, to January 13th, 2019

  • Ensemble 2017 – juried group show – ACT Gallery, Maple Ridge, BC – November 4th to December 21st, 2017

  • Expressions in Clay – group show – White Rock, BC – July 1st to August 6th, 2017

 

Awards

  • Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023 finalist

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Representation

  • ARTspace, Chatham ON

  • Gardiner Museum giftshop, Toronto, ON

  • Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery's shop - Waterloo, ON

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Art Fairs and Art Crawls

  • Chatham-Kent Art Studio tour 2024 – Chatham, ON – September 2024

  • Chatham-Kent Art Studio Tour 2023 – Chatham, ON – May 2023

  • Art on the Boulevard – Erieau, ON – Jul 2022

  • Walkerville Holiday Walk – Windsor, ON – November 2019

  • Art Crawl – Chatham, ON – July 2019

  • Car-Free Festival on Main – Vancouver, BC – June 2017

  • The Roundhouse Christmas Sale – Roundhouse Cultural Centre, Vancouver, BC – December 2016

 

Written Work

  • Ceramic Materials Composition and Properties, a compilation of my research on ceramics materials composition and chemical properties, and a learning method to start working with ceramic surface treatment materials; not yet published.

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Teaching

  • Ceramics Materials Composition and Chemical Properties – one day workshop

  • Pottery, wheel throwing – 8 weeks, beginners – Chatham Cultural Centre in May and June 2018

  • Ceramic hand building – 8 weeks, beginners – Chatham Cultural Centre in January to March 2019

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In the Media

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Radio

Radio Canada – show: À échelle humaine – Interview – June 17th, 2023 – on my new body of work: Trimorphism – 17 minutes long, in French

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​​Newspapers

Chatham Daily News (front page) – February 21st, 2023 –  interview – making it as a finalist for the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023

Chatham-Kent This Week (front page) – February 23rd, 2023 – interview – making it as a finalist for the Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics 2023

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Online

Gardiner Museum podcast – June 2023 – in conjunction with Fusion Fireworks 2023, one of six artists, a 10-minute presentation about my sources of inspiration.

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