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Vera Tamari

Ceramic Sculptress

Lecturer at Birzeit University - Islamic Art History

Vera Tamari is perhaps the first artist to have started studio ceramics in Palestine, having established her workshop in El Bireh (Ramallah) in 1975. Her interest in clay rose from observing village women potters at work skillfully shaping by hand the traditionally made large pots (hishash) and other household pottery appliances. Trained in Florence, Italy, Vera initially produced wheel thrown ceramics, but later shifted to sculptural ceramics and bas reliefs with themes inspired by Palestinian landscape and traditional village life.

The corpus of her recent work includes small earthenware plaques adapted from some old family photographs taken in the 30s and 40s. These works addresses issues of identity and memory, issues that for Vera are so pertinent in recollecting her own family history. "Oracles from the Sea" (1998), her latest sculptural installation also tackles the question of history, in this case that of Jaffa, her family's original hometown, and the dispersal of Palestinians after 1948.

Vera Tamari has exhibited her work extensively both locally and internationally and is active on many local board which promote art and culture in Palestine. She is co-founder of Al Wasiti art center in Jerusalem and has published several articles on Palestinian Art. She co-authored "The Palestinian Village Home", a book published by the British Museum in 1989.

Another area of specialization for Vera Tamari is Islamic Art History which she teaches at Birzeit University.

For more information on Vera Tamari you can contact Al Wasiti Art Center, Jerusalem, 5822859.