Renowned Saskatchewan sculptor Victor Cicansky dies at 90

Acclaimed Saskatchewan artist Victor Cicansky, famed for his sculptures of everyday garden produce including canned vegetables and ceramic outhouses, has died. He was 90.

Cicansky was born in Regina in 1935 to Romanian parents and spent his early years learning to garden.

That passion for the garden became his life's work, with Cicansky creating colourful glazed clay sculptures of the fruits and vegetables he grew.

"He was special. Right from the get go I thought this guy is amazing," said Regina artist Wilf Perreault, himself a nationally acclaimed artist most famous for his paintings of back alleys.

Cicansky's early career was spent teaching elementary and high school.

During those years Cicansky enrolled in a pottery class, which led him to a ceramic residency at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts in Maine and then to the University of California, where he received a master's in fine arts, according to the Canadian Encyclopedia.

Upon returning to Canada, Cicansky taught at the Banff School of Fine Arts, the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design and the University of Regina.

It was at a U of R lecture that Perreault first met Cicansky, a meeting that developed into a lifelong friendship that also included renowned Regina sculptor Joe Fafard, who died in 2019.

"I think the three of us were definitely influencing each other," Perreault said.

Cicansky elevated his humble subjects — including vegetables, outhouses and Volkswagens — with his talent and sense of humour, Perreault said.

"It was the way he played with it and the glazes he put on those pieces of ceramic. It went beyond what it was," Perreault said.

"It was all playful and serious at the same time."

Joe Fafard's daughter Gina Fafard, who owns Slate Fine Art Gallery in Regina and represents Cicansky's work, said her memories of Cicansky go back to her early childhood.

"Very joyful. You could tell the energy and love that he put into his work was who he was," Fafard said.

Cicansky achieved international acclaim during his life. He received the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in 1997, was made a member of the Order of Canada in 2009 and was awarded the Saskatchewan Lieutenant-Governor's Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Arts in 2012.

"Vic was just one of the icons of the Prairies artists. He was a huge part of our community and I know an inspiration to many of the artists coming up," Fafard said.