ABOUT US
At Vessels + Sticks, we create a space for discovering exceptional contemporary, material-based art, with a focus on ceramics. Our gallery brings together artists who balance beauty, material exploration, and conceptual depth — makers who expand what clay can be while staying rooted in its timeless history.
From intimate works that invite close contemplation to ambitious, large-scale pieces that command architectural presence, our exhibitions highlight the breadth and vitality of contemporary ceramics today. We carefully curate artworks and projects to spark curiosity and foster dialogue, connecting visitors and collectors with sculptural works and installations that resonate on aesthetic, tactile, and intellectual levels.
Whether you are a collector, designer, architect or enthusiast, or simply curious about the possibilities of clay, Vessels + Sticks offers a place to engage with work that is both grounded and forward-looking — art that holds space, tells stories, and shapes experience.
OUR STORY
Vessels + Sticks was founded by Jennifer Kerbel Poirier with a clear vision: to create a gallery dedicated exclusively to contemporary, material based art with a focus on ceramics. Showcasing artists from around the world, the gallery exists to bring clay into the spotlight — expanding the ceramic collector base in Canada and beyond, while positioning ceramics, and material craft, within the broader conversations of contemporary art and design.
Jennifer’s path to founding Vessels + Sticks combines a lifelong love of the arts with a strong foundation in business and marketing. She holds a degree in Western Art and Literature from the University of Western Ontario, along with an MBA in Arts and Media Administration & Marketing from York University’s Schulich School of Business. Before launching the gallery, she built a career as a strategic marketing and business leader in the tech, financial, and energy sectors, and also served as Business Development Director at a large Toronto Commercial Gallery.
Bringing together her business expertise and curatorial vision, Jennifer has shaped Vessels + Sticks into a gallery that amplifies the voices of contemporary ceramic artists and fosters new opportunities for collectors. Each interaction is designed to spark curiosity, challenge perception, and highlight the extraordinary ways clay can define form, space, and meaning.
At its heart, Vessels + Sticks is about building connections — between artists and audiences, between collectors and their collections, and between ceramics (and more broadly material-based art) and the ever-evolving world of contemporary art.
