Lying Leopard

Today's Featured Sculpture

Lying Leopard by Bevin Chikodzi

Weight: 1kg

Genre: Animals

Stone Type: Leopard rock

Sculptor Information

Bevin Chikodzi was born in 1966 in Mrewa, Zimbabwe and was part of the Shona Tribe. He was the eldest of seven children. Bevin married a childhood sweetheart. Bevin past away in October 2006.

Bevin completed his primary school at Mrewa and secondary education at Seke I. Whilst at school, he excelled in art and craft. From 1988 to 1989, Bevin worked with Mr Mudhokjwani, a local sculptor, in Seke. After gaining some valuable experience, Chikodzi decided to work on his own.

Bevin lived in Chitungwiza and was a sculptor full time. He had a personal style, which tends to be semi-abstract or abstract. Bevin’s sculpture portrays human emotions and relationships.

Golden Serpentine, a rare hard stone found in Zimbabwe was very much favoured by Bevin who enjoyed all the beautiful colours emerging from the stone once polished. He also worked in black and brown Serpentine.

Bevin had a quiet, gentle nature and a very good sense of humour. He was well liked and respected amongst his community.

The artist worked together with his stone and it is believed that “nothing which exists naturally is inanimate” – it has a spirit and life of it’s own. One is always aware of the stone’s contribution in the finished sculpture and it is indeed fortunate that in Zimbabwe a magnificent range of stones are available from which to choose.

Remembering

Today's Featured Sculpture

Remembering by David Gopito

Weight: 38kg

Stone type: Serpentine

Genre:Abstract

Sculptor Information

Born in 1946 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, David Gopito is married and has four children. He attended St. Webecks School and left after completing standard six. He now lives in Chitungwiza.

After leaving school he helped his brother who was a wood and stone carver in Mutare. In 1970, he went to Victoria Falls and joined the Forest Craft Village. Today, after having branched into producing unique pieces of sculpture, David works as part of a prominent sculpture community.

David prefers to work in harder stones such as Verdite, Golden Serpentine and Serpentine. His sculpture is elegantly finished and he spends time ensuring they are well polished. David produces semi abstract pieces exploring subjects pertaining to human experience and emotion. He appreciates subjects such as the special relationship between a mother and newborn baby/child as well as the growth of a foetus and often expresses these interests in his sculpture. David’s work is characterised by rounded lines and is extremely tactile.

David Gopito is a fine second generation Contemporary Sculptor who has participated in several group exhibitions worldwide and has become increasingly popular over the years.

Friend

Today's Featured Sculpture

Friend by Kakoma Kweli

Genre: Family/Children

Stone type: Serpentine

Sculptor Information

One of Tengenenge’s success stories: Kakoma began sculpting at the age of 82. With the death of his half brother Makina Kumeya, Kakoma walked hitch hiked, took buses and trains to get to his brothers funeral. At Tengenenge Kakoma met up with Tom Blomefield and after staying at the sculpture community for a length of time he was persuaded to start sculpting. Kakoma never looked back and his sculpture could be found in many group exhibitions in Australia, Germany, Holland, South Africa and Zimbabwe.

Kakoma had a large exhibition following in Holland where his angular style was very popular. His style was flat with a mask like quality with minimal rough features, archaic simplicity. Kakoma married one of the Tengenenge maidens and lived a very colourful like until his death in 1998.

Kakoma was awarded numerous distinctions by the National Gallery at their heritage exhibitions.

Dancers

Today's Featured Sculpture

Dancers by Chenjerai Chiripanyanga 

Weight: 154kg

Demensions: 121 x 64 x 33cm 

Genre: Abstract

Stone type: Springstone 

Sculptor information

One year after the successful exhibition of Chituwa Jemali and Denny Kanyemba that presented at the Chiefs and Spirits Gallerie with great pride and joy, one big sculptor talent out of Zimbabwe with the name of Chenjerai Chiripanyanga.

Chenjerai is 23 years old and has been doing work for the last 6 years as a professional sculptor in Harare. He participates in diverse exhibitions in Zimbabwe and won prizes for his work (one of them being the National Heritage Exhibition in 1992), and sells his work to very particular collectors over the whole world.

Chiripanyanga’s work is very emotional, actual and seldom political “Big” topics like Aid,s and he is not portraying Economical crises, but he is not scared to do little sculptures like the one with the sully policeman and his lovely wife forms a strong example of what he can do.

He also exhibits something different. Chenjerai is one the few Zimbabwean sculptors that does not stick to one type of stone. He uses a variety of stone types and wood and other things that he can use in his sculptures. Due to this he can work faster on his art pieces and then he can get rid of his art feelings faster too. Chenjerai is not just an outstanding sculptor, but he is also able to express his feelings in paint.

The exhibition in the gallery Chiefs & Spirits is Chenjerai’s first exhibition outside the borders of Zimbabwe. The exhibition gave a full overview of his talent. Besides his 40 sculptures from the period 1992 – 1994 that were on show, he also had his recent paintings and drawings there as well.

During the exhibition, Chenjerai was busy working in the gallery on sculptures and paintings. Approximately a thousand Zimbabwean stone was transported to Den Haag for this reason.

Welcome to our Gallery in the beautiful town of Stellenbosch!

Feel free to pop in at any time 

Celebration

Today's Featured Sculpture

Celebration by Norest Mashaya 

Genre: Family/Children

Weight: 89kg

Stone type: Springstone

Dimensions: 102 x 35 x 40 cm

Sculptor Information

Mashaya was born in Harare on 29 June 1985 in Zimbabwe. Mashaya is a natural born artist who started sculpting in 2002. Though he just started sculpting as a hobby at a tender age he however started it seriously while in high school when he worked as an apprentice to Tinei Mashaya, a well-respected artist in Zimbabwe and abroad.

Mashaya is a young artist whose work portrays man’s affinity with nature.

No wonder his work have been exhibited in many countries like Germany, America, Canada, England, South Africa, South Korea and other countries.

Dog

Today's Featured Sculpture

Dog by Enos Gunja

Genre: Animals

Weight: 15kg

Stone type: Steatite

Dimensions: 28 x 19 x 39 cm

Sculptor information 

Enos Gunja is from the Kore-Kore tribe and is forbidden through his family totem to eat lion meat.

After reaching Standard 6 at school Enos worked as a brick maker and became eventually a hunter fir a tsetse fly control team. His position was to guard the people spraying to eradicate the tsetse fly.

He discovered his talent at carving while at Tengenenge Sculpture Community. Enos says his ideas come from his imagination. Enos uses his logic; a figure is carved out of a stone where it lies like a figure wrapped in a blanket. He says it is not seen by anyone only he can see this imaginary figure, like a figure in a pool, until it is carved out of the stone starting from the top of the head until the feet are revealed. He is considered to be a great poet and storyteller and enjoys dancing.

Enos carves in the mountain where he quarries his own stone. The finished work is taken to his house at Tengenenge where it is polished and oiled and exhibited outside. Enos’s sculpture was included in an exhibition, which toured the U.S.A. Enos believes the course of his life depends on the will of his ancestral spirits. Once, Enos says, he became possessed by a spirit and became restless and disturbed. He was cured only after beer was brewed to propitiate ancestral spirits and offerings were made to the local Mondoro medium that is possessed by the spirit of a lion, Shona belief. His sculpture sometimes reveals inner perplexity. Grotesque and tortured, with bulging eyes and beaklike mouth with the nose omitted or divided into horns. Other sculptures are serene and natural with soft rounded out and sensual curved elements.

Kissing Couple

Today's Featured Sculpture

Kissing Couple by David Gopito

Genre:          Family/Children
Weight:        16kg
Stone type:   Serpentine
Dimensions:  37 x 28 x 13 cm

Information about the Sculptor

Born in 1946 in Mutare, Zimbabwe, David Gopito is married and has four children. He attended St. Webecks School and left after completing standard six. He now lives in Chitungwiza.
After leaving school he helped his brother who was a wood and stone carver in Mutare. In 1970, he went to Victoria Falls and joined the Forest Craft Village. Today, after having branched into producing unique pieces of sculpture, David works as part of a prominent sculpture community.
David prefers to work in harder stones such as Verdite, Golden Serpentine and Serpentine. His sculpture is elegantly finished and he spends time ensuring they are well polished. David produces semi abstract pieces exploring subjects pertaining to human experience and emotion. He appreciates subjects such as the special relationship between a mother and newborn baby/child as well as the growth of a foetus and often expresses these interests in his sculpture. David’s work is characterised by rounded lines and is extremely tactile.
David Gopito is a fine second generation Contemporary Sculptor who has participated in several group exhibitions worldwide and has become increasingly popular over the years.

African Spirit

Today's Featured Sculpture

African Spirit by Tinei Mashaya 

Sculptor:      Tinei Mashaya

Dimensions:  89 x 37 x 26 cm

Weight:         69kg

Medium:       Springstone

Genre:          Spiritual

Sculptor Information 

Tinei Mashaya was born in Nyanga on the 8th of February 1978. As a young boy he would spend many hours drawing pictures in the sand of mountains, trees, animals and hunters. The joy of forming shapes and images in the sand, soon led to his interest in sculpting images and shapes in stone.

His work explores regions of sensuality and spirituality; each piece is a statement of the soul yearning to break free from the confines of its physical dimensions. The depth of his imagination is the power that inspires him to immortalise his ideas and emotions in stone. Tinei’s work is so powerful that even the press was quick to notice him as he appeared in a Herald article with his very first piece. Tinei owes much of his training and encouragement to his brothers Passmore and Euwitt Nyanhongo who are renowned artists in their own rights.

Tinei has had his works included in several exhibitions in countries like the USA and South Africa. He has also participated in many local exhibitions. He hopes to take part in many other exhibitions and to have his pieces exposed abroad.

Artist :      Talli de Wet
Title:         Knitting
Medium:   Oil
Dimen :     70 x 55 cm.

Stellenbosch Gallery

Dear Friends,
Our new gallery in Stellenbosch is up and running! Apart from our extensive range of stone sculptures, we also have a collection of paintings by artists Carol Norval and Talli de Wet.
We are situated in the historic Dorp Street, number 176, look forward to seeing you there.