La Première Fois – The First Time is on view at Galerie Nicolas Robert, Montreal
September 13 – October 25, 2025
Curated by Mel Arsenault
Featured artists: Mel Arsenault, Trevor Baird, Élise Provencher, Susan Collett, Shary Boyle, Dominique Sirois, Rebecca Ramsey, Philippe Caron Lefebvre, Linda Swanson, Kristen Morgin, Emily Yong Beck, Kuh Del Rosario
There are few materials as alive and versatile as clay. An inexhaustible tool for creation, constantly testing its own limits, it maintains an intimate relationship with the body that shapes it, unfolding in gestures of collaboration or resistance. Tactile, contradictory, and surprising, ceramics can be understood as a tangible and conceptual entanglement: the hand engages as much as the imagination. Its dynamic nature, often following stubborn trajectories, requires navigating both extreme precision and unpredictability.
La première fois – The First Time brings together the work of twelve artists whose distinct methodologies shape the singular languages of the medium, transforming clay into vases, plumbing, trompe-l’œil, narrative objects, or even chemical experiments. Through techniques such as drawing, collage, nerikomi, and raku, the exhibition highlights the endless possibilities that arise when earth meets fire.
Artist and curator Mel Arsenault was drawn to the contrasting proposals offered by an intergenerational group of artists, from here and abroad, guided by a strong intuition to highlight frank and bold voices. Guided by a spirit of admiration and exchange, the artists trace a wide spectrum of ceramic practice. The title La première fois – The First Time reflects both Arsenault’s first curatorial project and the gallery’s first group exhibition of ceramics, while also evoking the strong impression these works can make upon their initial encounter. The works of Trevor Baird, Élise Provencher, Susan Collett, Shary Boyle, Dominique Sirois, Rebecca Ramsey, Philippe Caron Lefebvre, Linda Swanson, Kristen Morgin, Emily Yong Beck, and Kuh Del Rosario are brought together not for their similarities but for the singularity of each artist’s vision.
Contact
info@galerienicolasrobert.com
Galerie Nicolas Robert
4653 St-Laurent Boulevard
Montréal (QC) H2T 1R2
Canada
Photos courtesy of the artists and Galerie Nicolas Robert
Captions
- Philippe Caron-Lefebvre, Bruit RVB (Bleu), 2025, Stoneware, glaze, 32 x 24 x 5 cm (12.6 x 9.4 x 2 “)
- Rebecca Ramsey, Blush and whisper, 2024, Glazed porcelain, bronze, epoxy, glazed stoneware, grout, kerdiboard, 94 x 106 x 5 cm (37 x 41.7 x 2 “)
- Dominique Sirois, Collage alchimique, 2025, Glazed stoneware, 51 x 36 x 4 cm (20.1 x 14.2 x 1.6 “)
- Susan Collett, Gust, 2025, Racine series, Porcelain paperclay & wire, multi-fired gold gilding, pearlescent, cement, 40.6 x 45.7 x 35.6 cm (16 x 18 x 14 “)
- Kuh Del Rosario, In the Badlands I am a spider, 2025, Glazed ceramic, egg shells, wax, demin, plaster, 25.5 x 26 x .5 cm (10 x 10.2 x 0.2 “)
- Emily Yong Beck, Sanrio Pot 2, 2025, Ceramic, glaze, painting, 38.1 x 33 x 31.8 cm (15 x 13 x 12.5 “)
- Trevor Baird, Large Vase 8, 2019, Porcelain, underglaze, glaze, 53.3 x 27.9 x 27.9 cm (21 x 11 x 11 “)
- Kristen Morgin, Untitled (Tips Cup), 2015, Unfired clay, paint, ink, nail, 14 x 11.4 cm (5.5 x 4.5 “)
- Mel Arsenault, Matin Cantaloup, 2025, Glazes on stoneware, 47 x 30 cm (18.5 x 11.8 “)
- Élise Provencher, Marcheuse de chiens, 2024, Ceramic, 38 x 62 x 41 cm (15 x 24.4 x 16.1 “)
- Shary Boyle, Nautilus, 2025, Raku test, Medalta. Glazes, 5 x 10 x 4 cm (2 x 3.9 x 1.6 “)
- Linda Swanson, Doubt Over Certainty, 2020, Glazed porcelain with copper, iron, nickel and rare earth oxides, 61.5 x 51 x 1 cm (24.2 x 20.1 x 0.4 “)
