Kim Bruce

Jun 18

15.5” brutalist vase with three flues by Kim Bruce. This extraordinary piece is available.

Monumental Art Pottery

In 1972, The Calgary Albertan published a short article about her.
“Kim Bruce, a young Japanese ceramist who married a Scottish boy. The couple live right here in Calgary, a former instructor at the Banff School of Fine Arts, Kim’s a perfectionist and allows none of her work to be exhibited unless it meets her own high standards of excellence.”

Kim Bruce was a Canadian-born toddler when her family, of Japanese heritage, were interned near Revelstoke, BC, near the beginning of World War II. She helped her family grow food for their own sustenance and for market sales. In later life she participated in garden shows and was known in Alberta for fine displays, particularly her “spectacular Himalayan blue poppy” (July 6, 1969, Calgary Herald).

She attended university in BC but moved to Alberta in the early 1960s. She was an instructor at the Banff School of Fine Arts and exhibited her pottery continually through the 1970s in Alberta. Some of her shows are listed below. Her pottery appeared sometimes solo, sometimes in conjunction with acclaimed artists.

We would love to know more about this exceptional potter. She comes near to that chasm of history where women artists still get dropped. For example, one article in the Calgary Herald in 1974 highlights her alongside renowned Alberta potter, Ted Diakow, in a show that also included three other women potters. All unnamed!

“Male/Female” 16” column by Kim Bruce is available

“An exhibit of work by Five Calgary Ceramists, currently on view at the Glenbow Art Gallery, show the versatility of clay as a material for crafts and for artistic expression. The two branches of ceramics = the functional and the decorative - are well-represented in this large and attractively displayed show. In the functional line, there are casserole dishes, planters and whole dinner sets. In the purely ornamental vein, there is nice assortment of little sculptures ranging from romantic to funky. Perhaps most pleasing in the entire exhibit are those pieces which manage to wed the functional with the ornamental. Both Ted Diakow and Kim Bruce accomplished this tricky dual nature in at least a few pieces. Outstanding in this respect was Diakow’s Cossack pot - a functional vessel with a most appealing figure on the lid. He repeated this theme in another much larger pot which was even more attractive. Diakow has contributed many functional items to the show, most of which show a respect for line and texture that makes them pleasing to regard. In her work, Bruce has emphasised a simplicity reminiscent of Japanese style. Her collection includes some very traditional pots, as well as contemporary planters which have been simplified into precise cubes with only subtle textural designs.”

Hand formed clay brutalist slabs mounted within a solid teak frame. Collaborative piece: Kim Bruce and Mara Hofmann. This stunning mid century artwork is available.

Below is a partial list of exhibition/sales in Alberta. Kim Bruce shared shows with some very important artists, often as the only potter displayed with paintings and prints.

• Renaissance Gallery Nov 1974 Special exhibition of fine pottery by Kim Bruce
• Glenbow Dec 1974 Ceramics by Ted Diakow and Kim Bruce plus three women ceramists
• Lefebrvre Gallery April 1975
• West End Gallery Nov 1976 with Toni Onley, Robert Genn and J.D. Turner
• West End Gallery Edmonton, Aug 2 1977. Exhibit with woodcuts by W.J. Phillips … serigraphs and watercolours by Toni Onley; pottery by Kim Bruce, Jane Van Alderwegen and Noboru Kubo
• West End Gallery July 1978 with lithographs by Harry Heine, silkscreens by Gordon Smith, prints by Meredith Evans, textile art by Lavoine McCullagh, pottery by Noboru Kubo, Blackmore Studio, Kim Bruce
• West End Gallery August 1979 with Alex Janvier, Robert Genn, Margarete Perrault, pottery by Kim Bruce and Noburo Kubo
• Sundance Gallery, Calgary, Christmas 1983 with Thelma Manarey, Helen Mackie, John Snow, Margaret Shelton, and 1985 along with WJ Philips, Molly Lamb Bobak, Fred Haines, Kim Bruce Pottery