
Mixed-media artist Rose B. Simpson uses culturally-informed Pueblo pottery techniques to create female and androgynous figures, oftentimes adorned with beads and jewelry made from metal and stone. Embracing the imperfections of artmaking, Simpson also primarily uses the slap-slab method, where thin pieces are affixed to each other to form a textured and hollow vessel.
As clay comes from the earth, Simpson perceives the material as ancestral and ultimately spiritual. However, she avoids specific references to Santa Clara Pueblo religious practices and developed her own iconography. For example, in Turn, the “x” signs on the seated figure represent protection from negative forces, while the “+” symbolizes a journey.
Rose B. Simpson
62 x 24 x 24 in.
Art Bridges
2019
Ceramic, steel, and leather
AB.2025.53
Pending