GHADA AMER

Ghada Amer

Thought #6 with a blue base and clown, 2017

Glazed ceramic

26.7 x 6.7 x 6.7 cm

Ghada Amer

Thought #13 writing in white and pink, 2017 Glazed ceramic

19.1 x 10.2 x 6.4 cm

Ghada Amer

Thought #9 a hand with the turquoise, 2017 Glazed ceramic

19.7 x 7 x 6.7 cm

Images courtesy of the artist and Cheim & Read, New York

Figurative art, made in clay, is an enduring cultural tool that has been used by countless peoples over the millennia to express complex ideologies and identities. Ghada Amer’s three ceramic works from her Thought series are a significant contribution to this ongoing process. The curvilinear forms and frequent use of color evoke a feminized form of an ancient Egyptian Shabti figure (small mummiform figurines placed in ancient Egyptian tombs to do the work of the dead in the afterlife). While created to embody an authentic female voice, rather than to accompany the dead, both Amer’s work and Shabtis are designed to be viewed in the round and represent an individual’s voice in the struggle for empowerment, whether over masculine hierarchy or over death.