Rob Froese

Rob Froese was born in 1963 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, into an artistic family. His art education began early, as his father, Gus Froese, is a prominent Saskatchewan painter and arts educator. Froese grew up in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, where he graduated from high school in 1981. He went on to receive his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Saskatchewan (1987), studying under Vic Cicansky, Ted Godwin, Dennis J. Evans, Leesa Streifler, and Jack Sures, and traveling to Europe, Asia, and the Middle East during his studies. Froese then earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts in ceramics from the University of Regina (1994), having studied with Robert Christie and Stan Day. Froese had developed an interest in Japan during his travels, and moved there with his wife in 1995. He taught English classes while quickly becoming involved in the Japanese ceramic community, establishing his own studio and beginning to exhibit within the country. Over nine years, Froese had twenty exhibitions of his work in Japan. He made brief returns to Canada, for a ceramics residency at the Banff Centre (2003) and for the Medalta International Artist-in-Residence Program in Medicine Hat, Alberta (2004). Also in 2004 Froese extended his stay in Canada to serve as artist-in-residence at the Moose Jaw Museum and Gallery, and he has continued his own studio practice in both Saskatchewan and Japan ever since, while teaching and mentoring other artists. Froese has held artist-in-residence positions in Morelos, Mexico (2006), Emma Lake, Saskatchewan (2006, 2008), and again in Medicine Hat (2009), and has served as ceramics instructor at the University of Regina and at Red Deer College (Alberta). Froese's years in Japan and collaborations with Japanese potters have had a profound influence on his work, particularly in Froese's understandings of colour and texture. Froese has a curiosity about the differences in local clays and has experimented with clays in Saskatchewan, Japan, and Mexico. Amy Gogarty in Ceramics Technical described Froese's process in 2009: "Rob Froese works quickly, responding to chance marks and textures that evolve through the various processes to which he submits the clay. His work overall has an 'untrammelled' spirit to it. It is beautifully balanced yet not symmetrical; plates and bowls fit comfortably in the hand and feed reward searching fingers with pleasing textures." Rob Froese lives in Moose Jaw and also maintains a studio practice in Sagara, Shizuoka, Japan.