When I first started to look for and collect studio pottery, I quickly learned from other collectors which “names to watch for” – Grove, Dexter, Ngan, Deichmann, Harlander, etc. Any of these would be considered a good find if I could land one. One other name that also kept coming up time and again was Mick Henry. Back then I didn’t know much about him – or even what his mark looked like at first – but I was always on the lookout for an example of his pottery. In those early years I was able to acquire pieces by all the other “collected” potters on my watch list except for him…

I’ve since been able to find a number of examples of Mick Henry's pottery- although they are still difficult to track down. This rarity is part of the mystique of his work. Recently I was able to acquire a very important example of Mick Henry pottery which intrigued me enough to do a  deeper dive into his career and art. What follows is some of what I've learned...

Shibusa is a Japanese aesthetic concept that embodies a subtle, understated beauty, often described as a quiet elegance or refined simplicity. Originating from the Japanese word "shibui," which means astringent or bitter, shibui has evolved to represent a nuanced appreciation for things that are not immediately or overtly beautiful, but reveal their charm and depth over time.

The essence of shibui lies in its restraint and minimalism. It celebrates the beauty found in imperfection and the passage of time, often favoring natural materials and subdued colors. Shibui objects or experiences are characterized by their simplicity, subtle details, and an inherent sense of balance and harmony. They do not shout for attention but instead invite contemplation and a deeper, more personal connection. Shibui can be seen in traditional Japanese crafts such as pottery, textiles, and architecture. A shibui teacup, for example, might have a rough texture and an irregular shape, with a glaze that has aged gracefully over years of use. The wabi-sabi philosophy, which appreciates the beauty of impermanence and imperfection, closely aligns with shibui.

The concept of shibui was popularized by Soetsu Yanagi, a prominent Japanese philosopher and the founder of the Mingei (Folk Craft) movement. Yanagi believed deeply in the value of everyday, handcrafted objects created by anonymous artisans. He championed the idea that these humble, functional items possessed an inherent beauty and cultural significance. Through his writings and lectures, Yanagi articulated the principles of shibui, emphasizing the importance of simplicity, naturalness, and understated elegance.

Mick Henry's pottery could be signed with one of the chop marks shown above.. 

• Photo 1: earliest version of his mark when working at St. Ives
• Photo 2: earliest version of his mark when working in Vancouver 
• Photo 3: later version of his mark when working in Vancouver
• Photo 4: Slug Creek mark (variation 1) with Mick Henry's mark
• Photo 5: Slug Creek mark - sideways S (variation 2)
• Photo 6: Slug Creek mark - with antennae (variation 3)

​​To date, my posts have primarily centred around British Columbia pottery and the potters that made them. What I’ve been missing until now is the important role that galleries played in getting the potter’s wares to market and into the hands of collectors. Successful potters do, after all, have to turn a profit in order to make a viable living, and the galleries that carried their work were one of primary conduits for those transactions.

In the mid-1960s, the arts scene in British Columbia, experienced a vibrant and transformative period. The province's artistic landscape was characterized by a mixture of traditional influences and burgeoning countercultural movements. However, a wave of creative experimentation and cultural change began to sweep through the larger centres. The influence of the broader North American counterculture was felt as young artists and musicians sought to break away from established norms. Local artists began to experiment with new styles and mediums, incorporating elements of psychedelia, pop art, and abstract expressionism into their work. British Columbia’s natural beauty and serene coastal surroundings also played a role in shaping the arts scene. Many artists drew inspiration from the picturesque landscapes and serene seascapes that ​characterized the region, incorporating these elements into their work.

In Victoria, a haven of artistic expression would emerge – Pandora's Box Gallery. From its inception, PBG generated excitement and interest among artists, buyers and local critics. Time Colonist writer Robert Skelton felt “the city and the artistic community need(ed) this service” and felt from the outset that the gallery “could be an important place.”

Pandora's Box Gallery, opened on a Friday night, on March 18, 1966 in an old house at 750 Pandora Street (hence the name). The building’s owner, J. Watson Marles was initially tempted to demolish the house to add to his adjacent parking lot. He spared it from the wrecking ball though, and instead rented it to Bente. While he had no interest in art himself, he is quoted that he “thought it about time Victoria had a gallery of this kind.” It became Victoria’s first privately owned boutique art gallery.

​The gallery was small and being located in an old house posed some unique problems. A lack of electrical supply to light the space after dark required Bente to rent extra lights and extension cords and run them across the parking lot to a neighbouring garage to make evening showings in the evenings possible.
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And then there were the typical challenges one faces when starting a small business on their own as well as the simultaneous responsibility of a single mom raising her children. Perhaps the biggest obstacle in the gallery’s first year was a fire that occurred six weeks after it opened. A faulty furnace in a back room destroyed 27 works of art by Toni Onley, Tony Hunt, Vicky Husband, and Nita Forrest among others. While the artwork was fully insured, the loss of electricty from the fire put the gallery in a precarious situation.

This did not deter Bente and soon Pandora’s Box Gallery was well patronized by the locals. Artists featured in the first year included Maxwell Bates, Eliza Mayhew, Herbert Siebner, Flemming Jorgensen and Molly Privett.
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Critics enthusiastically received and covered the gallery’s exhibits “make(ing) it crystal clear that Pandora’s Box is performing a vital public service. The artists and collectors of Vancouver Island have long needed such a gallery.” They went to implore the public that “if Victoria is to become the centre of artistic activity so many of us desire, it must support such ventures as Pandora’s Box in every way it can.” Critic Ted Lindberg wrote that without commercial outlets like PBG, “a community can jolly well wait for the tastemakers at the National Gallery, the Vancouver Art Gallery, Life, Time and Artscanada and other redoubtable authorities to tell us what’s happening.” Going on to say that “Pandora’s Box has provided you with that one slender excuse for claiming this city is involved in contemporary local art,” and that “the city needs Pandora’s Box more than it needs the city.”

​Soon, Bente went on to secure a new location for PBG within a repurposed munitions warehouse by the harbor at 1208 Wharf Street. Taking over a rival gallery’s space – Angel’s Camp Gallery, the new Pandora’s Box reflected Rehm's inclination for marrying art with unconventional spaces. The juxtaposition of the industrial setting (complete with a walk in safe) with the cutting-edge artworks it housed created an immersive experience that engaged visitors on multiple levels. The roomier new location also allowed for small concerts, poetry readings and film viewings.

​People certainly took notice and Bente’s business grew. Her exhibitions were reviewed by Canadian Art magazine twice in 1967 alone. And while the painting featured
prominently on the walls – it was the public’s new interest in the art of pottery that would help pay the bills.

Prominent artists in the field of ceramics and pottery, such as Jan and Helga Grove, as well as Tam Irving and Mick Henry, were among the notable figures featured at Pandora's Box Gallery during the 1960s. Their contributions added depth and variety to the gallery's offerings.
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The Groves had just recently arrived in Canada and established their pottery around the same time the original PBG opened. The Groves were European trained potters of the highest calibre whose work would come to be recognized nationally and internationally over the next 40 years. She featured their work in a solo exhibit at the gallery from April 1-20, 1967, with an opening the night prior.

Bente remembers the Groves as “quite shy and modest” and carried their pottery for the duration of the gallery’s existence. She recalls that it sold very well and consistently, especially the smaller blue tableware pieces by Jan – mugs, plates, bowls, etc. What was most eye-catching on her gallery shelves though were the “incised hieroglyphic” pieces by Helga – lamp bases, large vases and bottles featuring the deft of hand sgraffito decorative work Helga was exceptionally skilled at and known for. One art critic said “the incised patterns appear initially to resemble the most serious of hieroglyphic messages, and are organized with grave precision, a second look reveals that they are witty, even comic passages; gaiety keeps breaking through.” If you look closely at the display photos, you can spot some of Helga’s work.

​After three years of struggle to keep the PBG open, Bente listed the gallery for sale at the end of 1968 and it closed shortly after that. While it is widely agreed that Pandora’s Box was an important aspect of Victoria art and culture, the financial challenges of running a gallery proved too much. Critic Ted Lindberg stated “it is not a matter of mismanagement, and I happen to know Mrs. Rehm has subsisted on a budget so marginal that it is a wonder the gallery hasn’t folded long ago.” Sadly it did, and an iconic part of BC’s artistic story was gone.

During its brief time, Pandora's Box Gallery had a profound impact on the local Victoria art scene. The gallery's exhibitions weren't just displays of art and craft; they were catalysts for meaningful conversations. Bente Rehm's commitment to fostering a sense of community among artists and potters contributed to the gallery's enduring legacy today – people who were there fondly remember it. Emerging talents found a nurturing space to grow, collaborate, and gain exposure, while established artists were encouraged to experiment and evolve. This approach resonated far beyond the gallery's physical presence, shaping the ethos of artistic engagement on Vancouver Island for years to come.

If you have any “incised hieroglyophic” pieces by Helga Grove you wish to sell, please contact me. Examples of her work are shown below, along with an example of her signature which you will find underneath the piece.

I’m also interested in acquiring specific works by Mick Henry. Please contact me if you have one or more pieces to sell.

When one thinks of important early Alberta potters, the name that usually comes up is Luke Lindoe, and rightly so. Lindoe gave much to the movement in Alberta between his stays in Calgary and Medicine Hat. However, the brief and dynamic arrival of Sibyl Laubental to the north, in Edmonton, in the early 1950s, should give one pause to consider her immense and important contributions as well.

Marie Sibyl (Budde) Laubental was born in Halle, Germany in 1918 just at the end of the First World War to Martin Luther University professor Werner Budde, and his sculptor wife, Grete. Grete Budde was a gifted sculptor and portrait artist at a time when instruction at art academies was typically denied to women. She took private lessons instead and, as a result, produced a great many portraits and scultures in the 1920s and 30s. The Budde family's Jewish heritage put them in tremendous danger with the rise of National Socialism in Germany, and in 1937, Werner was one of 39 lecturers to be removed from the University due to newly instituted racial laws.

​Sibyl Budde started her career in ceramics at 18. She first studied as an apprentice around Salerno, Italy from 1935 - 1938 before returning to Germany and being hired as an assistant at the prestigious studio of Danish born modernist potter Jan Bontjes van Beek in the Charlottenburg district of Berlin. As the war progressed, and things got much worse, Van Beek's daughter Cato was arrested and executed for her involvement in the "Red Orchestra" resistance. Van Beek himself was also arrested for the crime of sipperhaft - or shared responsibility. Ms. Budde, who had been married ​to architect Carl Laubental, was forced to spend the remainder of the war in hiding with her husband and young family in the attic of a baker. The van Beek studio was destroyed in a bombing raid in 1943.

​After the war, with Sibyl spending a couple of years working in a Stuttgart tile factory, the young Laubental family emigrated to Edmonton in the spring of 1952 where her extraordinary talent was recognized almost immediately. She helped teach at the newly formed Edmonton Potter's Guild where she instructed students on the wheel, taught them how to prepare clay and glazes, and how to produce high fire stoneware. These were early days and would likely seem primitive to today's potters but the knowledge base was in its infancy and Ms. Laubental was a major factor in its growth. Her skill on the wheel even caught the attention of Luke Lindoe himself who drove hundreds of kilometres to see her demonstrate. He recalled "(she) taught me what I needed to know about throwing." (Crawford, p.201).

As Ms. Laubental's reputation grew she was invited to teach at more locations including the Banff School and the University of Alberta Extension Department. She gave a great deal of her focus to her students, distracting from her own personal production. As a result her work is now quite scarce and difficult to find. She did manage to send juried pieces off to important exhibitions where she won awards. These included Canadian Ceramics 1955 ($50 prize for a stoneware vase) and 1957 (see below) as well as the 19th Ceramic National in 1957 at Syracuse, New York. This recognition would likely have to be considered the pinnacle of her career.

She also exhibited at;

• First National Fine Crafts, National Gallery of Canada 1957
• Brussels World Fair, Belgium 1958
• Ceramic National, Syracuse 1958
• Contemporary Ceramics, Belgium 1959
• Ceramic National, Syracuse 1960
• ​​Smithsonian International Exhibition of Ceramic Art, Washington DC  1961

Sibyl Laubental's work reflects the Bauhaus design ethic we see in other European influenced potters like Marguerite Wildenhain, Jan Grove, and Leonard Osborne. She believed that glaze and decorative motif should not detract from the lines or designs of a piece but rather should enhance it. All the examples of her work pictured in this article illustrate this.

Sadly, Sibyl Laubental's life was cut short by a terminal illness, in 1961, at the age of only 43. She was succeeded in her teaching role by the likes of Walter Dexter and Noboru Kubo. During her brief decade in Canada she influenced and started the careers of a great many Alberta potters, contributing tremendously to the development of the Alberta ceramics movement along with Luke Lindoe.

I've been fortunate enough to find and acquire but one piece of Sibyl Laubental's work - this bowl. It is a fine example and emblematic of her Bauhaus approach. Simply glazed but with incredible depth and feel. It does not distract from the perfectly thrown form. Likely dating to the mid to late 1950s, the bowl is 8 1/4" across and 3 1/2" high.

Ms. Laubental's only solo exhibitions occured after her death in 1962 - one in Winnipeg, the other in Edmonton. Interestingly, her mother, Grete Budde recently had over 90 of her sculptural works recognized at her first solo exhibition - Grete Budde. Works for the University - in 2021 in Halle, Germany.