Greg Payce: Artist-potter and winner of the 2013 Saidye Bronfman Award

When Greg Payce was 5, he saw a man on TV “throw” a pot and was immediately inspired. Fifty years later, he continues to produce remarkable objects of beauty that pay tribute to the history of his craft while teasing out the negative space that exists between his works.

Whether it is his trademark rows of vases enclosing profiles of human figures in the negative space between, or his latest large-scale lenticular (holographic-like) photographs that create the illusion of depth and movement, Payce’s body of work is rich in philosophical, historical and cultural references. In recent years, he has begun to overlay his ceramics with video and photography.

As an instructor at Calgary’s Alberta College of Art and Design, Payce has mentored countless students and influenced the direction of this fine craft in Canada. He has presented his work in over 150 solo and group exhibits around the world. Last year he exhibited at Toronto’s Gardiner Museum and his large bronze commission, SSSSSSSSSSSSSSS, is notable at the Calgary International Airport. He was featured in Trans-Ceramics, the feature exhibition at the 3rd World Biennial of Ceramics in Icheon, Korea, and his major work, Wane, was recently installed at the new Canadian embassy in Seoul, Korea.

Born in Edmonton, Payce is currently based in Calgary.



The Governor General’s Awards in Visual and Media Arts were created in 1999 by the Canada Council for the Arts and the Governor General of Canada. The objective of the awards is to celebrate Canada’s vibrant arts community on a national level and to recognize remarkable careers in the visual and media arts. In 2007, the Saidye Bronfman Award for excellence in the fine crafts joined this prestigious family of awards.