Mould Breaker

Zizipho Poswa’s unique take on ceramic art is inspired by her South African roots

Cape Town ceramicist Zizipho Poswa received a breathless call from Trevyn and Julian McGowan, of Cape Town gallery Southern Guild, in late 2018. The couple were at Design Miami, where they had just placed two of Poswa’s glazed stoneware pieces with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA). As the facts of the transaction settled, so Poswa’s emotions skittered. It had only been a few months since she had debuted her first art pieces, boldly coloured abstract totems that speak about her journey as a Xhosa woman, in a group exhibition in Cape Town.

‘I was still unsure about my work,’ says the Umtata-born ceramicist. ‘I didn’t think my career would get to this level so soon.’ Poswa is not being modest. The two sculptures acquired by LACMA – one is pillar-box red, the other marine blue with gashes of red, and both are titled Ukukhula (‘growth’ in Xhosa)– were only her fifth and sixth personal studio pieces. By this measure, Poswa’s march into the museum world has been brisk, circumventing the usual procedures – extensive production, solo shows, fawning press, patient waiting – that typically preface institutional recognition.