A Lower Mainland twosome open a ceramics exhibit at The ACT.

A couple whose artwork will be on display at the Maple Ridge Art Gallery share the same medium – clay – but differ in both style and scale.

Originally from the U.K. where both developed a shared affinity for eastern and modernist esthetics, Keith and Celia Rice-Jones’ work has continued to evolve in captivating ways through their shared home practice at Wildrice Studio in Burnaby.

Despite sharing the same clay, kiln, and esthetic sensibilities, their respective creative output differs greatly.

The Maple Ridge Art Gallery will open a new installation on March 16 featuring the sculpture and ceramics of the artist couple entitled A Life in the Day.

“There is a naturally established circular completeness to my lifestyle. I can make bread in the kitchen, tend to the garden on the way to the studio, and make pots to use with food,” said Celia “I enjoy this revolving cycle of activities, each including the others, and all contained behind tall laurel hedges in an urban environment that blends West Coast heritage, Japanese formality, and English profusion.”

While Keith Rice-Jones’ work is equally in tune with this environment, his recent large-scale figurative and abstract pieces look more at home at any time of year in an outdoor setting such as the couple’s beautiful garden.

While some are more humanoid in appearance and others more purely abstract, they clearly speak to Keith’s varied influences.

“The design heritage and way of working resonates in my work but there are also hints of a fascination with different cultures and ideas of ritual,” said Keith. “Some of my earlier work with stylized functional vessels and containers continues, though my current focus is with large sculptural work.”

It is typical of these artists that they have taken it upon themselves to create an environment within the gallery that lends elements of eastern serenity to the arrangement.

Tall plinths are intermingled with long overhead banners and in one corner suggestions of a Japanese garden extend the Asian theme further.

Gallery staff have arranged for a Japanese tea ceremony to be conducted on site in April, although the date has not yet been finalized.

Other opportunities arranged to coincide with this exhibition include a free tour of the exhibition with Keith Rice-Jones on March 23 at 11 a.m. and a pottery workshop called Zen and the Art of Space on April 7.

Details of the workshop are available in the Maple Ridge Pitt Meadows Spring Leisure Guide, or by emailing the gallery at mrag@mract.org.

A video inspired by the exhibition has been created by filmmaker Rene Terlinden and will be on view in the Gallery throughout the run of the exhibition.

The show runs from Saturday, March 16 to Saturday, June 1. (The gallery will be closed on Friday, March 29 for the public holiday.)

There will be a public reception on Saturday, March 16 from 2 to 4 p.m. Everyone is welcome and there is no charge.

There will also be an artist presentation by Keith Rice-Jones on Saturday, April 13 at 11 a.m.

The Maple Ridge Gallery is open from Tuesday to Saturday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.