Gentle Lady

The sculptors work with the stone rather than against it, letting its shape, grain and color suggest what lies inside. Every piece is carved by hand. Many carvers leave part of the stone rough on purpose, so the raw rock sits right next to the polished surface.

Common subjects are the family, mothers and children, animals, and people turning into animals or spirits. Forms are simplified into symbols drawn from the beliefs and folklore of the Shona people, so a piece suggests its subject rather than copying it.

Working in stone runs deep in Zimbabwe. Between the 11th and 15th centuries, the ancestors of the Shona built a city of huge stone walls and towers, fitted so carefully that no cement was needed. They also carved tall birds from stone, and one of them is now on the country's flag. Zimbabwe takes its name from that city: in the Shona language, Zimbabwe means "house of stone."

The modern movement began in Harare in the late 1950s, when a new generation of sculptors joined this ancient skill with a modern, spiritual expression. Their work soon won international fame. In 1968, the Museum of Modern Art in New York City sent it on tour across the United States, and in 1971, the Musée Rodin in Paris gave it a major exhibition. London, Stockholm and the Royal Botanic Gardens at Kew followed.

Today Shona sculpture is recognized around the world as a major contemporary art movement. Newsweek called it "perhaps the most important new art form to emerge from Africa this century," and its admirers have included Pablo Picasso and Henry Moore. It is held in the collections of the British Museum and the Museum of Modern Art, and pieces have set record prices at auction. Collectors have included Richard Attenborough, and Zimbabwe's government has chosen it as a gift for visiting leaders. When Harare hosted the Non-Aligned Movement summit in 1986, a sculpture by Richard Mteki was presented to India's Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi.

York's Shona Gallery is proud to be the first gallery to exhibit Shona sculpture in the United States. We have shown Shona sculpture in New York City since 1983.