Shona sculpture, named after the most populous tribe in Zimbabwe (the "Shona" - the other major tribe being the "Ndebele"), is certainly the most important art form to emerge from Africa in the 20th century, after the Europeans falsely apostrophized African art as rather traditional, primitive and not very modern during the colonization of Africa and in the decades that followed.
Stone sculptures from Zimbabwe are internationally recognized as modern African art and an extremely noteworthy contemporary art movement and can be found in museums and collections in many countries. This authentic African art movement is internationally recognized and highly appreciated by professionals and amateurs alike.
It is generally known that African art has had a lasting influence on European modernism. Not only Matisse, Klee and Picasso acknowledged their African roots, but also in sculpture, when asked in 1988 by the London Sunday Telegraph who would be the most important sculptor after the death of Henry Moore, it was stated that perhaps three candidates could be considered: Joseph Ndandarika, Sylvester Mubayi and Nicholas Mukomberanwa. All three are from Zimbabwe - a clear sign of the international relevance and appreciation of Zimbabwean sculpture!
Since then, Shona sculptures have been exhibited in the "Museé Rodin" in Paris, in the "Völkerkunde Museum" in Frankfurt, of course in the "Museum of Modern Art" in New York, in the "London Museum of Contemporary Art" and in many other important museums around the world as an independent art movement. Exhibitions have been held in London, Amsterdam, Sydney, at the Venice Biennale and the World Exhibition in Seville, which have given this impressive art its definitive international standing.
The origins of Shona sculpture date back to the 11th - 13th centuries, when the first finds in the form of ancient birds - today the symbol of Zimbabwe - were made in "Great Zimbabwe", the most important and probably only ruined stone site south of the Sahara. "Zimbabwe" also originally meant "the house of stone".
At the end of the 1950s, the art of sculpture experienced a renaissance in what was then Southern Rhodesia (since independence in 1980: Zimbabwe) when the Briton Tom Blomefield set up the first sculpture center north of the capital Salisbury (today: Harare) in Tengenenge and, in collaboration with Frank McEwan (later director of the National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe), promoted it sustainably. Blomefield handed over his responsibilities to others in 2007 for reasons of age.
The sculptors work with the stone available in their surroundings, usually different types of hard serpentine or so-called "springstone", christened by one of the first artists because the stone is so hard that the hammer and chisel "spring back" from the stone.
The themes of sculpture revolve around the eternal questions of love, happiness, family, African spirits and myths, or the surrounding nature.