Exhibition Statement
Mentor and Metalsmith takes us on a journey through the intertwined careers of two master jewelers. Wesley Harris has curated the late Arthur Brecken’s work into this exhibit as an homage to his profound influence. The exhibit constructs a narrative of the generosity and warmth Arthur Brecken offered to many students and jewelers in a lifetime spent perfecting his own craft. The aesthetic influence and mastery of medium shared between these two artisans is exhibited here in the interrelated bodies of work from two silversmiths. Mentor and Metalsmith is an exhibition of intricate sculptural works touring across Canada. Wesley Harris has produced an astounding body of work that explores the formal influence of nature & humor and exhibits the precise construction & cumulative process of exquisite metalsmithing. By curating Brecken’s work into his own, Harris visually articulates the benefit of mentorship on a life’s work, and the rippling effect such support has on a community of artisans.