In praise of African art: How Shona sculpting emerged

By Percy Zvomuya Joseph Ndandarika, who was once described as one of the three greatest living stone sculptors. (Image courtesy of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe) In the act of remembering the Zimbabwean sculptorĀ Lazarus Takawira, who died of Covid-related complications on 12 January, it is impossible not to talk aboutĀ Frank McEwen, the founding director of…

Legends of sculpture still standing

By Timothy Akuda The internationally recognised sculpture movement has to date lost 90 percent of its founding members. The movement which was started in the 1960s still stands strong and shows no signs of dying. To date we have lost crucial members like Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Bernard Matemera, Crispen Chakanyuka, Claud Nyanhongo, Fanizani Akuda, Albert Nathan…

If you want to be in art business, come to Zimbabwe: Tafunga Bonjisi

We caught up with sculptor Tafunga Bonjisi who having spent the last ten years in South Africa is back in Zimbabwe “for good” and promises fireworks on the visual art scene. Inspired by his late brother Lameck Bonjisi and Nicholas Mukomberanwa,Tafunga shares some insights on the state of the Zimbabwe stone sculpture. According to Tafunga,”If…

A Quick History of Zimbabwean Shona Sculpture

By Robert Mukondiwa Curator (Zim Art) African stone sculpture from Zimbabwe is often called Shona sculpture, named after the largest tribe engaged in sculpting. Zimbabwe – derived from the Shona word dzimbadzamabwe which means ā€˜house of stone’ – is the only country on the African continent that has large deposits of stone suitable for sculpting.