Artist statement:
From Paris, France, Charley
Farrero has worked as a ceramic artist since 1972.
He studied Fine Arts in
Regina (SK), and currently lives and works as an
artist in Meacham (SK) and Courtenay (BC)
“I am attracted by all
ceramic processes. My sculptural ceramic pieces
incorporate slip cast objects, hand-built additions,
grout, ceramic frames and shards, commercial tiles and
found objects.
The creation of my
sculptural ceramics has been free of any one strong
principal influence.
Son of Spanish immigrant
father and Basque mother in Paris, francophone
immigrant to a rural Saskatchewan community, I have
been always aware of discrimination, intolerance, and
bigotry. Inequality, injustice, incarceration, class
differences and colonialism are addressed in some of
my works. Other works are more of a personal nature,
sometimes humoristic.
I did not adopt a school of
thought or a trend.
I had to invent one: my own
voice. “
Recognition statements:
“Charley Farrero is a
respected master of the fiery alchemy of the ceramic
arts. His professional artistic practice has
enriched, inspired and nurtured the lives of his
colleagues and his community. His work,
his life, his knowledge, his passion and his
creativity have been strong forces in the
development and growth of ceramic arts practice
across Canada and abroad.”
Patrick Close
“Artistic expression cannot
be sequestered simply because he has no aboriginal
lineage. He has access to audiences that we are
still being shut out of, even now in 2024. I see
Charley as an allied force for the Aboriginal
community. His works explore themes that are raw and
painful. His audiences need to have an opportunity
to view these, in order to continue the
conversation. “
Kititumhin Askikahpmotahtah
(Lyndon Tootoosis)
“An eclectic group of
ceramic artists created a potent mix of creativity –
the more traditional European aesthetic of form and
function was rocked by the impact of California
funk, the exploration of the grotesque and the
celebration of folk art to create the beginnings of
a unique, Saskatchewan aesthetic. Farrero immersed
himself in this creative ferment. He contributed to
the creative outpouring in ceramics with incredible
energy, precision from his mathematical training, a
passionate commitment to the community, and an
ironic view of the world that comes from jumping
from the streets of Paris to the back roads of
Saskatchewan.”
Mark Stobbe,
past executive director of the Saskatchewan Craft
Council.