Stone Sculpture of Zimbabwe

Hallowell Gallery
January 8 - June 29, 2025

Zimbabwe translates to “house of stone,” so it is no surprise that Zimbabwe’s most famous art movement is stone sculpture, known as Shona sculpture, named for Zimbabwe’s largest indigenous group. This art movement can be traced back to the 1950s. While stone carving has been practiced for centuries in Zimbabwe due to the rich and abundant stone deposits throughout the country, this movement is decidedly contemporary.

British-born curator Frank McEwan (1907-1994) first encountered local soapstone carvers in Harere, Zimbabwe where he became the founding director of the National Gallery of Rhodesia (now the National Gallery of Zimbabwe) in 1956. In the 1960s, he established the National Gallery Workshop School where local carvers were encouraged to create works inspired by their culture and eventually to work with harder stones like serpentine. McEwan is credited with bringing international attention to Shona sculpture through a series of exhibitions in the 1960s and 1970s that traveled to European cities such as London and Paris. Also in the 1960s, white South African-born tobacco farmer Thomas Blomefield invited artists to form an art community on his land in the Guruve District north of Harere which was rich in serpentine stone deposits. These actions helped birth a movement that has captivated the art world ever since.

Shona sculptors, usually with deep spiritual beliefs and a reverence for nature, often see stone sculpting as a means of expressing cultural identity and connecting with their ancestors. Some feel that the ancestors provide inspiration and they carve the stone to “release the spirit.” Common themes in Shona sculpture include the spirits, family, mother and child, nature and animals, and even abstracted forms. The history of Shona sculpture is a story of cultural heritage and artistic creativity. The popularity and demand for Shona sculpture continues to grow.

This exhibition was curated by FAM Curator Sarah Vargas from the private collection of Mona N. Cummings and Kudzai Nyandoro.

Photo of Shona sculptor at work.