MAGDALENE ODUNDO
The Vessels
June 24–October 15, 2017
Magdalene Odundo. Photo by Ben Boswell
This summer, the High Museum of Art will present an extraordinary
group of terracotta vessels and related works by the artist
Magdalene Odundo (British, born Kenya, 1950)
Magdalene Odundo
Untitled, 1989
Burnished and
oxidized terracotta.
Private collection, CA
Magdalene Odundo
Symmetrical Variegated Form 1990
Burnished and
carbonized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
The trajectory of Odundo’s work over the course of three decades
“Universal and Sublime: The Vessels of Magdalene Odundo” will trace her trajectory from its genesis in the early 1980s through her most recent innovations, including new works created especially for the exhibition. Over the years, Odundo’s art has become immediately recognizable for its distinctive, sensuous forms, some of which suggest the human figure.
Magdalene Odundo
Untitled, 1990
Burnished and
carbonized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Magdalene Odundo
Vessel Series II, no.1
2005–2006
Burnished and
carbonized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Odundo’s technical achievements
Odundo builds her vessels by hand using a coiling technique and often fires them repeatedly, which results in burnished, silken surfaces ranging from bold orange to smoky, iridescent black. Odundo’s technical achievements fuse with a distinctly personal style, influenced by sources from across the globe and throughout time.
Magdalene Odundo
Vessel Series III, no.3
2005–2006
Burnished and
carbonized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Magdalene Odundo
Untitled, 2013
Burnished and
carbonized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Her ceramics synthesize artistic traditions
Ranging from Greek and Roman pottery, to Elizabethan costumes, to the art of modern masters Henri Matisse and Amedeo Modigliani, to the spherical vessels African women have made throughout the centuries to carry and store water.
Magdalene Odundo
Untitled, 1995
Burnished and
reduced terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Magdalene Odundo
Orange Narrow Necked, 1987
Burnished and
oxidized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Statement from Carol Thompson
High’s Fred and Rita Richman curator of African art
“We are so pleased and honored to present Odundo’s truly transcendent work. Her inventive approach to art making combines a mastery of materials and innovative techniques to create a body of work that honors the past but remains very relevant to today’s world”
“Odundo’s ceramics resonate with works in the Museum’s historical African art collection, such as an exquisite Mangbetu vessel—a form that Odundo acknowledges has inspired her practice.”
“The sculpture’s graceful female form looks so animated that it nearly seems to dance. Similarly, Odundo’s works feature flowing, dynamic forms that are full of life”
Magdalene Odundo
Kigango Series, 2000
Burnished and
oxidized terracotta
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Magdalene Odundo
Untitled 14, 1994
Burnished and
reduced terracotta.
Maxine and Stuart Frankel
Foundation for Art
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Born in Nairobi, Kenya, in 1950, Odundo lived her early life in both Kenya and India and moved to England in 1970. She studied ceramics at the West Surrey College of Art and Royal College of Art and has traveled the world studying and researching ceramic techniques, speaking, and conducting workshops.
Her art is represented in major museum collections worldwide, including those of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and The British Museum.
In addition to her many awards, the artist was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday Honour’s List for Services to the Arts in 2008.
Photo: Lady-Magdalene Odundo with son Marimba Mendez at
Buckingham Palace receiving OBE from theQueen
Get together with Magdalene
For the opening of the exhibition, the High will present a conversation between Odundo and Thompson on June 23, 2017, from 7 to 8 p.m. in the Hill Auditorium. Attendees may view the exhibition after the talk.
SEE ALSO ABOUT AFRICAN ART:
AFRICAN ART
Exhibition Organization and Support
Universal and Sublime: The Vessels of Magdalene Odundo is organized
by the High Museum of Art, Atlanta.
This exhibition is made possible by
Premier Exhibition Series Partner: BANK of AMERICA. Exhibition Series Sponsor: DELTA – TURNER. Premier Exhibition Series Supporters: Sarah and Jim Kennedy, Anne Cox Chambers Foundation, The Antinori Foundation, Jane and Hicks Lanier, Louise Sams and Jerome Grilhot and WISH Foundation. Contributing Exhibition Series Supporters: Corporate Environments, Peggy Foreman, James F. Kelly, Charitable Trust, The Lubo Fund, Margot and Danny McCaul, Joyce and Henry Schwob. Generous support is also provided by: Anne Cox Chambers Exhibition Fund, Alfred and Adele Davis Exhibition Endowment Fund, Forward Arts Foundation Exhibition Endowment Fund, John H. and Wilhelmina D. Harland Exhibition Endowment Fund, Dorothy Smith Hopkins Exhibition Endowment Fund, Howell Exhibition Fund, Helen S. Lanier Endowment Fund, Barbara Stewart Exhibition Fund, Eleanor McDonald Storza Exhibition Endowment Fund.
High Museum of Art
1280 Peachtree Street, N.E., Atlanta, GA 30309
24-hour Recorded Info 404-733-4444
www.high.org
About the High Museum of Art
The High is the leading art museum in the southeastern United States. With more than 15,000 works of art in its permanent collection, the High Museum of Art has an extensive anthology of 19th- and 20th-century American art; a substantial collection of historical and contemporary decorative arts and design; significant holdings of European paintings; a growing collection of African American art; and burgeoning collections of modern and contemporary art, photography, folk and self-taught art, and African art. The High is also dedicated to supporting and collecting works by Southern artists. Through its education department, the High offers programs and experiences that engage visitors with the world of art, the lives of artists and the creative process.