My Daily Art

With a collection of thousands of objects spanning centuries, cultures and media, there is a lot to choose from at the WAG. I’m not sure why I turned to our decorative arts collection this time, but as my research on an exhibition entitled Simply Splendour progressed, I began to understand why.

This collection at the WAG includes Canadian and European porcelain, silver, glass, and studio ceramics produced over the last three centuries. Spending hours in the vaults looking at these objects was both gratifying and mesmerizing, often displacing for a moment the pressures around me.

Like painting, sculpture, and other media, the decorative arts are valuable social documents of their time. Beyond their obvious aesthetic qualities, these objects have intimate connections to the daily life of their makers and owners. They speak to social custom, contemporary taste, fashion, and technology. And they’re simply amazing handcrafted objects made by someone, somewhere, at some point in time – and this always causes me to reflect on the power of art to connect us.

While the WAG is temporarily closed, your collection is still here for you. Stay connected with the art through daily posts from our Director & CEO, Dr. Stephen Borys.

This is a series of daily posts that will continue until the Gallery reopens. Follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, or visit our stories section.

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