iMbewu by Zizipho Poswa celebrates South African cultural stewardship

Southern Guild gallery presents iMbewu (The Seed), a solo exhibition by South Africa-based ceramic artist Zizipho Poswa, on view from June 26 – August 21, 2026, at their New York location. “Derived from the isiXhosa word for ‘seed’—a potent symbol of transformation, continuity and becoming—the exhibition brings together works produced between 2016 and 2026 alongside three new sculptures that expand upon the cultural narratives, symbols and material investigations that have shaped Poswa’s artistic language,” Southern Guild notes in an official release.

The art exhibition is accompanied by a monograph published by the contemporary art gallery that traces her development over the past decade. “To encounter one of [Poswa’s] sculptures is not merely an act of viewing art; it is an immersion in the transcendence of a simple ‘pinch pot’ into a monument to Xhosa cultural heritage and symbolism, to female solidarity and to the enduring bonds between clay—practical and sacred, ancestral and living—and the female body it seeks to invoke,”  the independent art historian, curator and art consultant Barbara Thompson writes of Poswa’s work in the show’s description.

Anchored in the ceremonial practices and matriarchal knowledge systems of South African women, the contemporary artist’s sculptures celebrate the cultural stewardship carried by women across generations. “Born in Mthatha in South Africa’s Eastern Cape and originally trained in textile design, Poswa approaches clay with an instinctive sensitivity to rhythm, pattern and texture. Retaining the tactility of the hand, each form is hand-coiled and realised through an embodied process that mirrors the themes of endurance and care at the heart of her work,” Southern Guild notes.

A recurring thread in the show is Umthwalo—isiXhosa for ‘load’—the custom of women carrying heavy objects on their heads. The ceramicist transforms this everyday act into a metaphor for the visible and invisible responsibilities women shoulder within their families and communities in her work. “Across bodies of work inspired by ‘lobola’ negotiations, Pan-African hairstyling traditions, ceremonial objects and protective amulets and maternal rituals, Poswa repeatedly returns to a rich repertoire of symbolic motifs—cow horns, braided coiffures, stacked vessels, gathered loads, hair combs, ‘ukhamba’ beer pots and bronze crests—through which the intimate rituals of daily life are transformed into monuments of dignity, resilience and power,” the art gallery explains.

“Collectively, iMbewu (The Seed) charts the continued evolution of Poswa’s hand while reflecting the generative logic that underpins her practice. Across a decade of committed making, she continues to honour the women of her community as architects and custodians of collective memory and communal life,” Southern Guild notes.