I am a Muslim woman ceramic artist who creates abstract Islamic sculpture. My love of clay is rooted in the Quran which says we are made from it, a material that embodies our humanity. I create abstract sculpture to express my own unique authority of interpretation, expanding the canon of what we typically associate with Islamic art.
I use atmospheric firing methods to capture distinctive and irreproducible markings that individuate each vessel as part of a unified whole, reflecting the Islamic principle of tawhid, or unity through diversity. Many of my installations include 99 unique objects to represent the 99 Names of God as microcosms of the macrocosm.
I ritualistically sculpt vessels as dhikr, an Islamic practice of repeatedly reciting a word or phrase to elicit a spiritual connection to the Divine. Dhikr means remembrance and my sculptures serve as visual reminders of universal truths like love, transformation, justice, creation, and the everyday miracles of our existence.
I am also create socially engaged art. I am the creator of 99 Clay Vessels: The Muslim Women Storytelling Project (99clayvessels.com), a multimedia community building project inspired by 99 clay vessels she sculpted to represent the 99 names of God in Islam. I was named a Visionary of Craft in 2022 by the American Craft Council. In 2024, I was awarded a Multicultural Fellowship by the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts (NCECA). My work has been supported by The Henry Luce Foundation, the Islamic Studies Center at Duke University, Austelle Foundation, Virginia Humanities, Waraich Family Fund and others.
Before pursuing art full-time, my career included decades of experience as a social justice educator on Islamophobia & anti-Muslim bigotry. I also have extensive experience as a fundraiser who raised over $15 million for activists fighting the criminalization & dehumanization of Muslims and other communities as justification for the Global War on Terror. You can read more about my work at 786arts.com, Instagram @786arts, YouTube @AlisonKysia, and on LinkedIn.
