Nermin Kura holds an MFA in Ceramics from RISD 1997, a Ph.D. in Art Design and Architecture (dissertation: Tunisian Tiles-Ottoman Inspiration 16th-19th centuries) from University - Ankara 1996, a DEA in African History from Universite de Paris I-Panteon - Sorbonne 1985, an MA in Art History and Archeology (dissertation: Ottoman Tiles in Tunisia) and a BA in Art History from Universite de Paris-Sorbonne, Paris IV 1982. She has taught Art History classes at Bilkent University, Ankara, Turkey from 1990-1995 and at RISD in the Liberal Arts and Ceramics departments in 1998 where she was also an artist in residence in ceramics. She has taught Ceramics Studio in Bennington College, Bennington, Vermont in 1997 and at Rhode Island College in 1999. She is presently Assistant Professor of Art and Architecture History at Roger Williams University, Bristol, Rhode Island.
Nermin states:
My work consists of coil built vessels, largely inspired from forms in the botanical world. I explore concepts such as containment, embodiment, fullness, and inner pressures, as well as connections between inner and outer realms. My preference for organic forms such as flowers, fruit and seed pods, is the result of a desire to initiate contemplation on a specific type of contained space; one where life consituting energies originate. The question of the occurrence of life and its embodiment, in other words, "the shape of life" is a matter of great intrigue to me. I question this phenomenon, through the intermediary of imagery combining botanical, organic and anthropomorphic elements. I work with a symbolic and metaphorical language that aims to reflect not only on the mysteries of nature as a cultural construct, but also on mankind’s complex relationship to the natural world. I am particularly interested in the conceptual quality of botanical imagery used extensively in the Islamic Arts, where ornament and symbol often become one.