About Shona Sculpture
About Shona Sculpture
Stone sculpture from Zimbabwe made its debut in America in 1968 under the auspices of The International Council of The Museum of Modern Art, New York City. The curator for this historic touring exhibition during 1968 – 1969 was Frank McEwen, founding director of The National Gallery of Art in then Salisbury, Rhodesia. The country’s new name, Zimbabwe, literally means “house of stone.”
Zimbabwe gained its independence from Great Britain in 1980, today their stone carvers continue to astound the world of contemporary art with their extraordinary, mystical, and spirit based sculptures. The works of Zimbabwe’s master sculptors are in the permanent collections of many famous museums such as The Museum of Modern Art in New York and the Rodin Museum in Paris. They are also in the private collections of some of the worlds’ most prominent art collectors including the Rockefeller and Rotheschild families, Queen Sofia of Spain, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Sir Richard Attenborough and Cicely Tyson. Additionally, many of the most important pieces are being kept in Zimbabwe as part of a national heritage collection.
With a stone carving tradition that dates back to the Great Zimbabwe stone enclosure built in the 10th and 11th centuries, today’s sculptors draw upon the extremely rich culture of the country’s predominant ethnic group called Shona. The Shona people believe that there is a spirit in all matter. An artist looking at a large piece of rough, untouched stone, will often remark that prior to applying chisel to stone, the first step in the creative process involves developing a clear mental image of the spirit that he or she will free from the stone when the sculptural form is complete.