Form and Relation: Contemporary Native Ceramics

by Jami C. Powell, Anya Montiel, Sequoia Miller, Courtney M. Leonard and Morgan E. Freeman

Form and Relation showcases the versatility of ceramics and its many forms through the work of seven contemporary Indigenous artists from across what is now the United States. Bringing together recent acquisitions, commissioned works, and loans directly from artists’ studios, this book urges audiences to reconsider and expand their understanding of what constitutes Native American ceramics. The catalogue highlights the innovative and critical works of renowned artists Anita Fields, Courtney M. Leonard, Cannupa Hanska Luger, Ruben Olguin, Rose B. Simpson, Kali Spitzer, and Roxanne Swentzell through stunning photography by Addison Doty and critical essays by Hood Museum curatorial staff and outside scholars. In addition to shifting expectations, Form and Relation introduces new forms that demonstrate the ability of ceramics to hold complexity and wrestle with concepts like community, identity, gender, land, extraction, global climate change, colonialism, language, and responsibility.