Installation view of “Zizipho Poswa: Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty),” Southern Guild, Los Angeles, Calif., 2024. | Courtesy Southern Guild
On View presents images from noteworthy exhibitions
GRACEFUL AND BOLD, the ceramic and bronze sculptures of South African artist Zizipho Poswa celebrate African womanhood. A testament to her matrilineal heritage, the works invoke contemporary and traditional roles, referencing beauty and adornment and the labor of rural women who carry heavy loads on their heads to bring vital resources to their families. This exhibition at Southern Guild gallery in Los Angeles features five monumental sculptures. Poswa made the works during a summer residency at the Center for Contemporary Ceramics (CCC) at California State University, Long Beach, where she had access to CCC’s sizable kilns. Rising to about eight feet, the works are her largest to date. CT
Zizipho Poswa: Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty) at Southern Guild, Los Angeles, Calif., from Feb. 22-April 27, 2024
Zizipho Poswa, 2023. | Photo by Elon Schoenholz, Courtesy Southern Guild
“I am inspired by conscious design. ‘Indyebo yakwaNtu’ is therefore an anthropological excavation that weaves together the socio-cultural and spiritual elements that underpin African creation.” — Zizipho Poswa
ZIZIPHO POSWA, “Lobi,” 2024 (bronze, glazed earthenware, 111.75 x 39.38 x 30.25 inches). | © Zizipho Poswa, Courtesy Southern Guild
ZIZIPHO POSWA, “Fulani,” 2024 (bronze, glazed earthenware, 96.88 x 48.38 x 26.38 inches). | © Zizipho Poswa, Courtesy Southern Guild
ZIZIPHO POSWA, “Cisakulo,” 2024 (bronze, glazed earthenware. 107.88 x 43.25 x 36.63 inches). | © Zizipho Poswa, Courtesy Southern Guild
ZIZIPHO POSWA, “Isacholo,” 2024 (bronze, glazed earthenware, 116.13 x 42.13 x 39.75 inches). | © Zizipho Poswa, Courtesy Southern Guild
Installation view of “Zizipho Poswa: Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty),” Southern Guild, Los Angeles, Calif., 2024. | Courtesy Southern Guild
FIND MORE about Zizipho Poswa on Instagram
BOOKSHELF
“African Ceramics: A Different Perspective” was published several years ago. A selection of volumes explores the practice of Magdalene Odundo, the renowned Kenyan sculptor. The fully illustrated catalog, “Magdalene Odundo: A Dialogue with Objects,” accompanied her exhibition at Gardiner Museum in Toronto, Canada. Expected in September, “Magdalene Odundo: The Journey of Things” documents the artist’s recent exhibition at The Hepworth Wakefield in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. “Magdalene Odundo” is described as the first full-length publication to explore her work. Also consider, “African Art Now: 50 Pioneers Defining African Art for the Twenty-First Century,” “African Artists: From 1882 to Now,” and “Contemporary African Art (World of Art).”
