Brigitte Clavette: Pushing Boundaries at Collect Art Fair 2025 

Renowned Canadian metal artist and NBCCD instructor Brigitte Clavette is set to showcase her latest work at Collect Art Fair 2025 in London, UK. With decades of experience, Clavette’s practice continually evolves, challenging traditional notions of functionality and materiality. This year, she returns to Collect with a fresh perspective—one that embraces imperfection, raw textures, and the organic beauty of nature. 

Collect Art Fair is one of the world’s leading events for contemporary craft and design, bringing together 40 prestigious galleries and works by 400 living artists, 80% of which have been created within the last five years. The fair provides a unique platform for collectors, museums, and interior designers to discover innovative pieces that redefine craft in the modern era. 

 With a focus on materials and processes, Collect features an extensive range of disciplines, including ceramics, glass, lacquer, furniture, art jewellery, metalwork, textiles, fibre, wood, and paper. The fair also highlights experimental works incorporating resin, beeswax, denim, plastics, and repurposed materials, demonstrating the evolving nature of contemporary craft. 

Finding Her Place at Collect

For Clavette, being part of Collect is more than just a fair; it’s an opportunity to engage in a global conversation about contemporary craft. Having first attended in 2019 as an observer, she describes her initial experience as eye-opening and even nerve-wracking. “The work presented is so edgy and traditional at the same time,” she recalls, particularly noting the deep-rooted history of silver and jewellery craftsmanship in England. Unlike the UK, where guilds and patronage have long supported silversmiths, Canada lacks the same traditional infrastructure. But rather than feeling out of place, Clavette embraces her difference.

This year, Collect introduces the theme of Water, which Clavette initially struggled to fit into. However, her signature silverwork—hammered, textured, and deeply organic—naturally connects to the elements. Using wood to complement her metal forms, she creates pieces that reflect the landscape of New Brunswick. 

Challenging Functionality and Tradition 

A defining aspect of Clavette’s work is its challenge to traditional functionality. Many of her pieces hint at utility—a small incense burner with a hidden tube, a sculpture with a concealed compartment—but their true purpose is often more ritualistic than practical. “For over 40 years, I’ve created objects meant for contemplation. Some become routine, like a favourite spoon, while others take on a ritualistic function—for prayers, commemorations, or special occasions.” 

Her approach defies the polished perfection often expected in silverwork, particularly in the UK. “I moved away from mirror finishes because I wanted my work to be touched,” she explains. While high-polished metal might be the norm, Clavette’s raw, textured surfaces invite interaction. 

Materials and Meaning 

Clavette’s latest works incorporate casting, painterly surfaces, and an exploration of decomposition. “I became interested in how materials break down. My windowsill is full of objects—food, organic materials—that I let dry and later cast into metal.” This fascination led to her show Futile Abundance, where she cast decayed food in silver, highlighting the tension between luxury and impermanence. 

Her inspiration also stems from her upbringing. “Growing up in a lower-middle-class Francophone family, we didn’t have silver at home. But in English households, silver symbolized wealth.” By casting unexpected elements—bird claws, decomposed fruit—Clavette challenges traditional notions of beauty and value.

The Impact of Collect 

Participating in Collect is both exhilarating and overwhelming. With hundreds of artists and galleries present, the fair provides an invaluable opportunity for recognition. “On the first day, museums and galleries shop privately, placing labels on pieces they want to buy. Last year, my colleague’s work was acquired this way,” she shares. For Clavette, the dream would be for a prestigious institution to collect her work. 

Beyond sales, the fair offers a broader perspective on craft worldwide. Clavette acknowledges the financial backing and institutional support that many artists in other countries receive—something she hopes Canada will embrace more in the future. “In Canada, we need more support for culture beyond sports and tourism.” 

Staying True to Her Practice 

Despite the prestige and pressure of Collect, Clavette remains grounded in her artistic identity. “Metal can be an elitist craft, but that’s not my language. I fit into the dialogue by exploring rawness and imperfection.” 

As she prepares to present her work on an international stage, she carries with her the strength of her convictions, the influence of her students at NBCCD, and the richness of her Canadian identity. “Whether I get invited again or someone buys all my work, I have no idea. But I know that my contribution is staying true to myself.” 

Clavette is not alone in representing New Brunswick at Collect—NBCCD alum Darren Emenau and artist Ralph Simpson will also be showcasing their work, further solidifying the region’s presence on the global craft stage. 

Brigitte Clavette’s work is a testament to the power of embracing one’s unique artistic voice. At Collect Art Fair 2025, she will once again demonstrate how metalwork can be both contemporary and timeless; raw yet refined. Through her fearless approach to material and meaning, she invites collectors, curators, and audiences to rethink what silver can be—and what craft itself can represent. 

Clavette is a current instructor in the Jewellery/Metal Arts diploma program at the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design.