Magdalene Odundo
Kenyan-born British potter whose hand-built, unglazed burnished vessels fuse African, Grecian and Nubian forms into taut, figure-like silhouettes.
Veronica's Take
Magdalene Odundo, the Kenyan-born British potter, has spent decades mastering the art of hand-built ceramics, creating vessels that blur the line between sculpture and pottery. Her unglazed, burnished pots fuse African, Grecian, and Nubian influences into taut, figure-like silhouettes, with each coil meticulously shaped to mimic the tension and fluidity of the human body. The pieces seem almost poised to move, as if standing on pedestals that resemble portrait stands. Odundo's work is celebrated globally, with her creations featured in major museums and esteemed collections worldwide.
She coils each vessel by hand and burnishes it to a breathing sheen — shapes so alive with the tension of a human body that a plinth feels like a portrait stand.
Key Facts
The people behind Magdalene Odundo
Magdalene Odundo
profileCeramics
Kenyan-born British potter whose hand-built, unglazed burnished vessels fuse African, Grecian and Nubian forms into taut, figure-like silhouettes.
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