BIOGRAPHICAL:
Studied architecture at the University of Manitoba.
1965-69; scenic painter, props
assistant, wardrobe assistant, Royal Winnipeg Ballet, Manitoba Theatre Centre
and Rainbow Stage, 1969-1972; began
lampworking with glass, 1971; European
tour, 1972-1973; studied glass at
Sheridan College School of Design, Mississauga, Ontario, summers 1973 and
1976; established private studio,
1973; architectural research,
Seventeenth Century English Seaport Architecture, for the Nonsuch Exhibit,
Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1973; co-authored Early Buildings of Manitoba,
Peguis Publishers, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1974;
charter member of the Manitoba Crafts Council, 1977; founding editor of The Blister, the
newsletter of the Manitoba Crafts Council, 1977-1978; field research, Manitoba Craft Development
Survey, Manitoba Craft Council, 1996;
conducted a kiln casting workshop at the University of Manitoba,
1996; nominated for the Bronfman Award,
1996, 1982, 1981, 1980; nominated for
the Chalmers Award, 1998, 1997; Adjunct
Professor, Faculty of Architecture, University of Manitoba, 1999; Bronfman Award finalist, 2000.
SELECTED SOLO
EXHIBITIONS:
Tropocene,
Material Matters, Toronto, Ontario, 2004.
Fragments
and 2 reconstructions: everything we know about the Tropocene, Canadian
Clay and Glass
Museum,
Waterloo, Ontario, 2004.
Chimerae:
Fieldnotes for a reconstructed future, Craftspace, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
2001.
Unwilling
Bestiary: Retrospective and Recent Work, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, 1998.
New
Work, David Rice Jewellery + Objects, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1996, 1990, 1988,
1980.
Ione
Thorkelsson, Ace Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1994.
St.Lupicin
Craft Gallery, St.Lupicin, Manitoba, 1994, 1990, 1988.
Ione
Thorkelsson, Art Gallery of South Western Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba,
1993.
Verre
Art Glass, Montreal, Quebec, 1981.
Young
Designers, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1977, 1976, 1975, 1974.
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS:
Thai-Canada
Chamber of Commerce Showcase Event, Bankok, Thailand, 2003.
Genius
Loci, Canadian Clay and Glass Museum, Waterloo, Ontario, 2003.
Canadian
Glass Art, National Liberty Museum,
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 2003.
Hot
Picks!, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2002.
Facets:
the many sides of glass, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2001.
IMPRINT,
Manitoba Legislature, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2000.
Winnipeg
House Art Display, City Hall, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1999.
On
the Edge, A Show of Hands, Toronto, Ontario, 1998.
First
Annual Canadian Glass Show, West End Gallery, Victoria, BC, 1997, et seq.
Remotely
Inspired: Clay and Glass from Manitoba, Pottery Workshop Gallery, Hong
Kong,1997.
The
Spirit of the Place, Vancouver Trade and Convention Centre, Vancouver, BC,
1997.
Getting
Warmer: An Exploration of Cast Glass, Manitoba Crafts Council and the
University of
Manitoba,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1996.
Canadian
Decorative and Contemporary Craft Exhibit, Charles Levitan Gallery, New
York, NY, 1994.
A
Natural Craft, Art Gallery of South Western Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba,
1994.
Refraction/Directions,
Members Survey Show, Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario,1994.
Masters
of the Crafts, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1993.
Bronfman
Nominees from Manitoba, Craftspace, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1993.
Contemporary
Focus, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1992.
Canadian
Glass Show, Rowles and Parham Galleries, Edmonton, Alberta, 1992 et seq.
Paper
and Glass, Craftspace, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1991.
Christmas
Show, Craftspace, Manitoba Crafts Council, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1989.
Contemporary
Art in Manitoba, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1987.
Perspectives
on Women in the 80s, Janet Ian Cameron Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1985.
Works
of Craft, The Massey Foundation Collection, Victoria Memorial Museum,
Ottawa, Ontario, 1984.
Canadian
Contemporary Glass 1982, Koffler Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, 1982.
Accents
And Art, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1982, 1978.
Ceramicists
Canada, Koffler Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, 1981.
Glass
Art Gallery, Toronto, Ontario, 1981.
Metier
d’Art III, Paris, London and Brussels, 1979-1980
Gallery
Interlake, Winnipeg Beach, Manitoba, 1978.
Wasagaming
Summer Arts, Wasagaming, Manitoba, 1978.
Neepawa
Festival of the Arts, Neepawa, Manitoba, 1977.
Islendingadagurinn,
Gimli, Manitoba, 1977 et seq.
Contemporary
Winnipeg Crafts, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1977.
Ellis
East, Toronto, Ontario, 1976.
COMPETITIONS AND JURIED SHOWS:
In
Praise of Crafts, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1988.
Reflections
on Three Plains, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1983.
Artisan
'78, Canadian Crafts Council travelling show, 1978.
Islendingadagurinn
Art Show, Gimli, Manitoba, 1978.
Fragile
Art '77, Glass Magazine, Portland, Oregon, 1977.
Lake
Superior '77, Biennial International Craft Exhibit, Tweed Museum of Art,
Duluth, Minnesota, 1977.
Manitoba
Decorative Arts Show, Oseredok Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1977.
COLLECTIONS:
Canadian Museum of Civilization permanent collection,
2003; Canadian Clay and Glass Museum
permanent collection, 2001; Winnipeg Art
Gallery permanent collection, 1998;
Crown Collection, Rideau Hall, 1997;
Canada Council Art Bank, 1994;
Indusman Collection, 1983; Contemporary
Canadian Glass Art, Imperial Oil Canada, 1982; Islendingadagurinn Permanent
Collection, 1978; Massey Foundation
Collection, 1976; Sheridan College
Permanent Collection, 1973.
COMMISSIONS:
Commissioned to produce the first Winnipeg Folk
Festival Artistic Achievement Award, 2004 (Loreena McKennitt); commissioned to produce glass flames for the
Menorah Project, Shaarey Zedek, 2002;
commissioned to produce the Green Globe Awards for the West End
Biz Association, 1999; commissioned to
design/produce the Carey Awards for We Care, 1995 et seq.; commissioned to produce an award-winning
series of stoppered bottles by Fusion Group for the Flax Council of Canada,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1994; commissioned
to design/produce the Blizzard Award, Manitoba Motion Picture Industry
Association, 1993 et seq.;
commissioned to produce chalices for St Alphonsus Church, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, 1990; commissioned to
design/produce altar vessels for St Mary’s Cathedral, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1987.
GRANTS:
Manitoba Arts
Council Major Arts Grants 2005, 2001,
1994, 1991; Manitoba Arts Council Grant to Individual Craftspersons, 2003,
1994, 1991, 1986; Canada Council Craft Creation/Production Grant, 2000; Canada Council Travel Grant, 2000; Canada Council B Grant (Craft), 1996-97; Manitoba Arts Council Visual Arts B Grant,
1983; Manitoba Arts Council Visual Arts
Project Grant, 1983, 1976; Canada
Council Exploration Grant, 1978.
PANELS AND JURIES:
The Canadian Clay and Glass Gallery Artistic Advisory
Committee, 2005; Manitoba Arts Council Visual Arts Organizations jury,
2004; Canada Council, Bronfman Award
Jury, 2004, 1999; Manitoba Arts Council
Crafts Grant jury, 2001, 2000;
Presenter, Millenium Glass - Fahrenheit 2000, Red Deer College,
Red Deer, Alberta, 1999; Craftspace
Jury, Manitoba Crafts Council, 1998;
Central Regional Juried Art Show, 2004, 1997, 1995, 1994, 1990; Northern Juried Art Show, 1997, 1994; Contact Manitoba, Provincial Juried Show,
Neepawa, Manitoba,1995; Manitoba Art
Council Crafts Advisory Panel, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1992; Manitoba Crafts Council Fifth Annual Spring
Exhibition Jury, 1990; Glass Art Society Panel, Toronto, 1989; Manitoba Arts Council Visual Art Bank
Program, Purchase Jury, 1988; Canadian
Conference of the Arts Panel, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1986; Glass Art Association of Canada Panel,
Calgary, 1985; Glass Art Association of
Canada Panel, Toronto, 1982.
CATALOGUES
AND PUBLICATIONS:
Fragments & 2 partial reconstructions: Everything
we know about the Tropocene, Canadian
Clay and Glass Gallery, Waterloo, Ontario, 2004; Ione Thorkelsson: New Work and Retrospective,
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1998;
The Unwilling Bestiary, Ione Thorkelsson and Lea Littlewolf
(Winnipeg: Turnstone Press, 1998); Selection:
20 Years, Galerie Elena Lee, Montreal, Quebec, 1996; Ione Thorkelsson, Art Gallery of
Southwestern Manitoba, Brandon, Manitoba, 1993;
Contemporary Focus: Studio Ceramics, Glass and Silver, Winnipeg
Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1992; In
Praise of Crafts, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1988; The Gift of Hands, Manitoba Arts
Council, 1987; Reflections on Three
Plains: Contemporary Crafts, Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
1984; Works of Craft for the Massey
Foundation Collection, National Museum of Man, Ottawa, Ontario, 1984; Ten Year Awards, Imperial Oil Service
Awards, 1981; Craftsman’s Way:
Canadian Expressions, Hart Massey and John Flanders (Toronto: University of
Toronto Press, 1981); Metiers d’Art /
3, Centre culturel canadien, Paris, France, 1979.
JOURNALS:
“Art and soul” by Caitlin Crockard, Preston
Catalogue, Ottawa, Ontario, Winter, 2004-05; “The winged and crypto-hieroglyphic forms of
Ione Thorkelsson” by Joan O’Doherty, Contemporary Canadian Glass,
Toronto, Ontario, Summer, 2004; “Ione
Thorkelsson” by Virginia M. Eichhorn, Border Crossings, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, Spring 2004; “Mutable History:
The work of Ione Thorkelsson” by Virginia M. Eichhorn, Fusion Magazine
(2004) 28(2):8-9; Prairie Fire
(cover), Winnipeg, Manitoba, 2000; “The
unwilling bestiary: glass sculpture by Ione Thorkelsson, poetry by Lea
Littlewolf”, Glass Gazette, Toronto, Ontario, Spring 1999; “Parting shot / coup d’oeil”, Muse,
Canadian Museum Association, Ottawa, Ontario, December 1998; “Prairie surrealism”, Robert Enright, Border
Crossings, Winnipeg, Manitoba, October 1998; “Poetry, glassworks and nature come together
at literary event”, Contact!, Winnipeg, Manitoba, July 1998; “Ione Thorkelsson: the unwilling bestiary”, Tableau,
Winnipeg Art Gallery, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 1998; “Glorious Glass”, Boulevard, Victoria,
BC, August 1997; “Ione Thorkelsson’s
wild feet”, Critical Distance, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 1994; “Glass Artists”, Western Living,
Calgary, Alberta, June 1985; “The
Indusmin collection”, City & Country Home, April 1984; “Prairie glass - a report”, Glass Gazette,
Toronto, Ontario, Summer 1983;
“Icelandic-Canadian Artists”, Northward Journal, Penumbra Press,
1982; “Moulding visions in molten
glass”, EnRoute, AirCanada quarterly, March 1981; “Class crafts”, Chatelaine, September
1980; “St Lupicin artists...”, Western
People, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, February 1980; “The exuberant art of Canada’s artisans”,
Marjorie Harris, Chatelaine, May 1979;
“Fragile, handle with care”, Manitoba Moods, Winnipeg, Manitoba,
Spring 1978; “Ms Thorkelsson’s deep
brown glass”, Canada Today / D’Aujourd’hui, Canadian Embassy,
Washington, DC, October 1976; “Handmade
in Manitoba”, Manitoba Moods, Autumn 1976.
NEWSPAPERS:
“Unnatural Nature” by Robert Reid, The Record,
Waterloo, Ontario, April 10, 2004; “From
graceful orbs to brazen beasts”, Logberg-Heimskringla, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, May 29, 1998; “Parts and
crafts”, Winnipeg Sun, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 15, 1998; “Roseisle glass maker...”, The Valley
Leader, Carman, Manitoba, August 24, 1994;
“Glass blower gets helping hand from Arts Council”, Pembina Times,
Morden, Manitoba, August 22, 1994;
“Artist utilizes burnt feet”, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, May 24, 1994; “Innovative
glassworks artist makes great strides with feet”, Brandon Sun, Brandon,
Manitoba, September 18, 1993; “Glass
blower creates art from sand”, The Pembina Times, Morden, Manitoba, June
20, 1989; “Manitoba artist excels in art
of glass blowing”, The Manitoba Co-operator, Winnipeg, Manitoba, January
26, 1989; “Artful cable series proves
surprise”, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, January 3,
1986; “Creative freedom realized”, Winnipeg
Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, December 2,1981; “Crafts emerging from the closet”, Winnipeg
Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 26, 1979; “Beautiful blown glass product of hard work”,
The Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, February 10, 1977; “Crafts honoured for artistry”, The
Tribune, Winnipeg, Manitoba, March 3, 1977;
“Ione Thorkelsson”, Logberg-Heimskringla, Icelandic Weekly,
Winnipeg, Manitoba, November 2, 1976;
“Barn’s stalls give way to glass blowers studio”, Winnipeg Free Press
Weekly, Winnipeg, Manitoba, January 10, 1976; “Glass blower practices ancient art”, Winnipeg
Free Press, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1975;
“Manitoba’s only off-hand glass-blower”, The Dufferin Leader,
Carman, Manitoba, November 26, 1975;
“Hand-made gifts for Manitoba”, Winnipeg Free Press, Winnipeg,
Manitoba, November 27, 1975.
RADIO AND TELEVISION:
Arts Encounters, Janet Doerksen, CBC Radio 1, Winnipeg, Manitoba, May 17, 1998; Arts Encounters, Jackie Good, CBC
Radio 1, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1993; Erica
Ritter, CBC, Radio 1, Toronto, Ontario, September 1986; What’s
On, Robert Enright, 24Hours, CBC Television, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1998; It’s a Living, Peter Jordan, 24Hours,
CBC Television, Winnipeg, Manitoba, February 13, 1995; Arts and Entertainment, Robert
Enright, 24Hours, CBC Television, Winnipeg, Manitoba, August 29, 1987; Country Roads, Ted Weatherhead,
24Hours, CBC Television, Winnipeg, Manitoba, 1986; The Artists (Program 1: Ione
Thorkelsson and David Jensen), Videon Cable 7, Winnipeg, Manitoba, December 18,
1985.
January 2005
