A pot is a pot is a pot, except when it is not just a pot. Pottery is an age-old tradition in Africa, a craft that has been passed down from one generation to another. Their use has been primarily functional. But then came Magdalene Odundo, an artist who has elevated the lowly pot to a finely sculpted vessel capable of eliciting emotion and evoking memory.
When Magdalene was a student at Pangani Girls pottery was the farthest thing from her mind – in fact her preferred art form was painting. When she joined the Kenya Polytechnic in the late sixties it was to study Graphics and Commercial Art where she graduated from a few years later. In 1971 she got the chance to enrol for a degree at the West Surrey College of Art and Design where she furthered her passion for graphic design. It was in Surrey that she happened upon the art of pottery and a lifelong passion was ignited. Magdalene travelled back to the continent to learn and hone her craft in Kenya and Nigeria, learning age old techniques that breathe life and form into the everyday material that is clay.
Inspired by ordinary shapes and forms that she comes across in everyday life, Magdalene uses her hands to build luminescent works of art that hark back to the hidden nuances of the female form. Her works can be found in the Smithsonian, the British Museum, the Victoria and Albert Museum and the Frankfurt Museum as well as several other notable art institutes. One of her pieces can be seen at the Nairobi Gallery, a part of the historic Murumbi Collection. Magdalene regrets not keeping some of her early pieces to herself, something she always reminds young artists to do. Now collector’s items, her early pieces are bought and sold for millions of shillings, far beyond the reach of the artist who brought them to life.
As she continued to practise, Magdalene taught ceramics for several years in the UK and in 2011 instituted a partnership between Kenyatta University and the University of the Creative Arts to exchange students and staff between the two institutions. In 2016 she became the first Kenyan to be awarded Professor Emerita of the arts and in 2017 she was announced as the incoming Chancellor at the University of the Creative Arts, the UK’s top speciality university for the creative industry; bringing to fruition a lifelong journey dedicated to celebrating, building and teaching the art form of ceramics.
In her words “Clay is a simple substance with a complex structure playing havoc without and within our kilns, keeping us guessing and daring to change its natural composition. Yet, like an alchemist seeking to make gold, I continue to seek to create that ultimate elusive simple vessel which will hold magic for me.”
We celebrate internationally renowned contemporary artist and dedicated teacher Magdalene Odundo for showing how the work of our hands is a treasure indeed.