Ndongwe’s works are sensitive depictions of abstract figures entwined in an arabesque movement that is pleasing to the eye and touches the soul of the viewer. The family members: mother and child, are interconnected in one continual flow, representing the vital truth that family is always together and never lost. While this form of abstraction is shared by other Shona sculptors, his style and creativity are distinctly his own. In the treatment of the stone, he suggests a single continuously painted brush stroke. He is considered among the best and most skilled of the artists interpreting this genre.
Ndongwe’s work is easily recognizable through his distinctive use of form and fluid line, which give his work an inner life that is emotionally as well as aesthetically evocative. He maintains a perfect visual balance in each sculpture, which is expressed in both the negative and positive spaces of the piece. Ndongwe’s sculptures are emotionally charged and reflect the inner rhythm of family love, tenderness, and unity. It is Ndongwe’s desire that the grace of the stone’s movement expresses the ever-changing experience of human dynamics. He wants his work to reach people in different parts of the world and communicate a universal message of beauty.
What is Shona?
The best of Zimbabwe stone sculpture combines the splendor and solidity of the stone medium with imagery drawn from reality and abstracted into symbolic form. Figures and features that are reminiscent of, yet not quite like, animal, and human forms suggest the creatures and mythological beings that inhabit the realms of the religions and folklore of the Zimbabwean people.
Why Shona?
· Suitable for indoor and outdoor environments (i.e. garden, terrace)
· Durable and will not dull or erode
· One of a kind pieces
· Marked with artist’s signatures
· Hand carved in Zimbabwe
