Walter Dexter (Canadian artist)

Walter Gibson Dexter (October 3, 1931 – June 2, 2015) was a Canadian ceramist, potter and teacher.

At an early age Dexter was drawn to art.

His family encourage his interest in drawing cartoons.

After completing high school he attend the Alberta Institute of Technology and Art commercial art diploma program.

Under the tutelage one of his instructors, Luke Lindoe, Dexter became interested in ceramics.

He went on to receive the Diploma in Ceramics from the then Alberta College of Art in 1954.

Lindoe continued to be a mentor to Dexter long after he completed his studies.

His efforts in seeking to enter a Masters program or find a position teaching pottery did not come to fruition.

However, he was offered a scholarship by the University of Manitoba to attend the Swedish School of Arts and Crafts in Stockholm where he continued his studies of ceramics.

He had a two-year sojourn in Europe after he finished his course in Stockholm.

He lived in England but traveled extensively.

His former teacher and mentor, Luke Lindoe offered Dexter a studio position so he was convinced to return to Calgary.

He worked in Lindoe's studio for two years then worked in a ceramics manufacturing firm in Medicine Hat as a designer and manager but left that employment.

By 1957, he was experimenting with the Japanese ceramic Raku process.

He was a pioneer in introducing this process to Canada.

Dexter was a pottery instructor at a number of academic institutions in Western Canada between 1960 and 1974.

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He had a studio in Kelowna from 1963 to 1967.

He engaged in production pottery and renewed his experimental work with Raku.

During this time he also developed his art repertoire creating coppered bowls and plates.

1967 until 1974 head of Ceramics at the Kootenay School of Arts in Nelson, British Columbia.

In 1970 he studied at the University of British Columbia.

Dexter's work falls into three main categories that correspond to the phases of his artistic development, Raku, Stoneware, and Figurative vases.

By the early 1970s Dexter had discovered contemporary Raku technologies.

When American ceramists Paul Soldner and Hal Reigger were in Nelson he attended their workshops.

Based on his own experimentation and learned techniques he became known for his raku ceramic works.

He also produced high-quality stoneware.

He has produced this type of work throughout his career.

Dexter's decorated plates are designed for wall mounting.

His most common subject matter depicts running or leaping nude female figures displaying various gestures.

These decorative plates express a representational aspect usually associated with drawing and painting.

Between 1995 and 2012 Dexter produced a body of artistic pottery work referred to as the "Torso Vases".

The name arises from the shape of the pieces, resembling a headless torso.

This colourful abstract figurative work has been widely acclaimed and written about.

His sketch books for the torso vases reveal the essence of the development of these forms.

Vessels and plate forms make up a substantial part of his work.

These pieces are often decorated with dancing figures.

He was drawn to this motif by his study and collaboration with the American ceramist Paul Soldner.

Dexter's works are held in the following public collections;

Dexter created a raku Donors' Wall for the Saanich Peninsula Municipal Hospital in Victoria, a major public commission in British Columbia.