Nermin Kura (B.1958)

In Nermin Kura’s sensual ceramics, enlarged and imaginary flowers burst forth, as in the present work, Moon Slippers (2015, glazed 2018). Glazed entirely in glossy white, Moon Slippers entrances, unfurling like an orchid, at once curved and triangular. Upon each of the three cascading petals sits a distinctively shaped bud, both blossoming and folding inwards upon itself. The swelling form is surrounded by an array of delicate, detached leaves. Moon Slippers evokes the same fascination with a bodily, organic beauty as Georgia O’Keeffe’s paintings, and both artists produce psychologically charged works. Similarly to O’Keeffe, Kura’s ceramics, too, are concerned with ‘issues of containment’ and the manner in which interiority can be both concealed and revealed (S. Bağci, ‘Clay Flowers: Nermin Kura’s Gülistani’, Nermin Kura: Ser, Galeri Nev, 2013, n. p.). Inspired by nature, in particular the floral patterning of Ottoman-era tiles, Kura’s practice explores both the translations of this cultural motif specifically along with broader questions pertaining to the embodiment of life in inanimate forms. Her ceramics have been internationally exhibited and avidly collected.