Formerly the Ontario Crafts Council, Craft Ontario is a not-for-profit service organization that works to have craft recognized as a valuable part of life. We promote and celebrate professional craft through providing member opportunities, and advocate for craft practice by educating and empowering diverse audiences.

Our location hosts a gallery and shop, where you can experience the handmade work of over 250 craft artists throughout Canada.

The Shape of Life | Joon Hee Kim

August 17 – September 29 | Open to 7:30 pm on Sept. 20

‘The Shape of Life is a solo exhibition of ceramic sculptures by Oakville-based artist Joon Hee Kim. The sculptures take the vessel form as the jumping off point — pot-like bases extend up into bodies that are teeming with life. Pushing past the boundaries of the form are sculptural collages of expressive faces, gesturing hands and everyday objects. It’s unclear whether the faces represent multiple people or the various moods of one person, but it is clear from the presence of tiny pots — miniature plates and bowls dot the surfaces — that the story being told here is at least semi-autobiographical. This is the story of a life preoccupied with vessels, told in the form of a vessel. Read more…

Joon Hee Kim is an Oakville-based ceramic artist. Her career began in graphic design and art direction in her native South Korea, before pursuing an Advanced Diploma in Ceramics at Sheridan College and an MA Fine Art at Chelsea College of Arts, University of the Arts London. Joon Hee has participated in artist residencies at Banff Centre for Arts (Canada), Shigaraki Ceramics Cultural Park (Japan), Centre for Ceramics – Berlin (Germany), Archie Bray Foundation (USA), and, most recently, the Northern Clay Center (USA). Her work has been exhibited in solo exhibitions at the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery and Art Gallery of Burlington, and in group exhibitions in Canada, the US, the UK, Germany, and Italy. Joon Hee has received grants from the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council, and is the recipient of numerous honours, including six Craft Ontario awards and the 2020 Winifred Shantz Award for Ceramics. Her work is in the permanent collection of the Canadian Clay & Glass Gallery, Archie Bray Foundation and Dan Lawrie International Sculpture Collection at the Royal Botanical Garden (Burlington).