Southern Guild, a renowned art gallery, opens tomorrow its Los Angeles location with two exhibitions. ‘Indyebo yakwaNtu (Black Bounty)’ by South African artist Zizipho Poswa is one of the two exhibitions, on display until April 18th.

Zizipho Poswa, a Cape Town artist, is known for her hand-coiled sculptures that express African womanhood. Born in 1979, she graduated from Cape Peninsula University of Technology and co-founded Imiso Ceramics in 2005. Poswa’s work with Southern Guild blends figuration and abstraction, reflecting her journey and Xhosa culture’s spiritual practices. Her artworks are in prestigious collections and have been showcased in various galleries worldwide.

‘Indyebo yakwaNtu’ showcases Poswa’s most complex and large-scale project yet, consisting of five towering ceramic and bronze sculptures, each over 8 feet tall. Created during her residency at the Center for Contemporary Ceramics (CCC) at California State University Long Beach, the sculptures were formed using the center’s large kilns and under the tutelage of Tony Marsh, a prominent American ceramic artist.

The exhibition enlarges elements of African adornment and ritual, transforming precious metal jewelry, beadwork, and hair accessories crafted by skilled artisans into oversized bronze elements placed atop huge ceramic bases. The exhibition’s title, ‘Indyebo yakwaNtu’, derived from Xhosa, encapsulates both material wealth and the broader cultural, economic, intellectual, and spiritual riches of Africa. Poswa’s approach is distinctly Pan-African, drawing on the continent’s mineral resources to create a visual language of adornment that shapes African identity.

Southern Guild aims to contribute to a deeper understanding of humanitarian, environmental, and societal concerns with targeted projects, large-scale installations, and immersive experiences. Their artists explore personal narratives, cultural structures, and social change.

Source: Southern Guild