Lisa Sette Gallery, 210 E. Catalina Drive in Phoenix, features the work of contemporary master Zulu potter Mncane Nzuza, Nov. 2- Jan. 4, 2020.

Hand-built clay vessels of master Zulu potter Mncane Nzuza, whose work is distinguished among her Zulu culture, and recognized in contemporary Western circles has traveled from South Africa to Arizona to be on display, according to a press release.

An opening reception will be held 7-9 p.m., Saturday, Nov. 9 with Douglas Dawson an ethnographic expert specializing in African, Asian, and Pre-Columbian ceramics, the release said.

Ms. Nzuza, 69, lives in South Africa in a kraal—the ancient, traditional compound of round, earthen houses. Her grandmother was a potter who instructed her as a child in the labor-intensive and matriarchal world of Zulu ceramics.

Traditional Zulu pottery created today links to deep cultural pathways: the blackened earthenware vessels function as potent connectors between ancestors and the living, described the release.

In addition to creating pottery to be used for brewing or serving a mild beer,, in the culture, the pottery-making art allows room for Zulu women to assert and increase prestige using individual expression for their creations.

Like Ms. Nzuza’s pots, which are accomplished technically and aesthetically, the release said, the appreciation of her vessels by contemporary Western audiences taps several recent currents in Western art.

The Arts and Craft movement of the early 20th century created an appreciation for technique, material, and function, and Minimalism, the release detailed.

Ms. Nzuza’s vessels are created on a formal foundation based on ancient Zulu traditions, which in most cases is unknown to contemporary Western viewers, the release said, noting her pots as simple, inflated forms that are subtle and understated.