Steven Heinemann — Ceramic Artist

Richmond Hill — Ontario

Steven Heinemann was born in rural Ontario in 1957 to Hungarian parents. Growing up in the countryside north of Toronto, he developed an early affinity for the natural world — for natural materials and processes. His creative interests took hold in high school, where he discovered clay and began what has become an intense involvement with the medium. While also active in painting and photography, Heinemann went on to study at the Sheridan College School of Craft and Design, where ceramics became his major focus. Upon completion of his studies there in 1979, he pursued further schooling at the Kansas City Art Institute, with the aid of a bursary from the Ontario Crafts Council. In 1983, he completed an M.F.A. in Ceramics from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University.

Since his first solo exhibition at the Ontario Crafts Council in 1982, Heinemann has exhibited widely, including shows at Prime Gallery, Toronto; the Canadian Craft Museum, Vancouver; the Albright Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo; and the American Craft Museum, New York. His work is represented in numerous public and private collections in Canada and abroad, including the National Museum of History, Taiwan; The Museum Het Kruithuis, the Netherlands; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the Claridge Collection, Montreal; the Canadian Museum of Civilization, Hull and the Canada Council Art Bank, Ottawa.

He has taught and lectured throughout Canada, the United States, and Europe. In both 1988 and 1994, Heinemann received the Prix d'Excellence at the National Biennial of Ceramics. He is also a two-time recipient of the Merit Award at the Fletcher Challenge International in New Zealand. In 1995, Heinemann received the Judges Award at the Ceramic International in Mino, Japan.

Heinemann maintains a studio in Richmond Hill, Ontario.