Transforming African Modernism

25 Years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980–2005)

Transforming African Modernism
25 Years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980–2005)
September 20–November 3, 2013
Opening Reception: September 20, 6–8 pm

SOUTH SHORE ART CENTER

Cohasset, MA, www.ssac.org

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EXHIBITION SPONSORS CONTENTS
Major support for this exhbition was generously provided by:

Acknowledgments 4

Susan Dickie About the Exhibition 5

Transforming African Modernism: 25 Years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980–2005) 6

A Short History of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture 8

BJ and Steve Andrus
About the Art Form 13

Art in the Exhibition 11 – 24

About the Stones 25

Sculpture on cover and title page: Women, Nicholas Mukomberanwa, The Tonga Spirit, Joseph Muzondo

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
Russell Schneider, Curator

South Shore Art Center is pleased to present Transforming African Modernism: 25 After Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980, the doors of the new country were Sculpture Artists Works on Paper Artists
Years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980-2005). When Russell Schneider proposed flung wide open to the art world. The First Generation artists (1940s and 1950s) Fanizani Akuda Chikonzero Chazunguza
the exhibition, the Art Center’s exhibition committee was unanimous in its decision (those who were instrumental in the early development of the art form) became Dominic Benhura Peter Clarke
to bring such outstanding international work to the South Shore community. As an ‘discovered’, subjected to critical acclaim, and thrust into art careers, some highly Lameck Bonjisi Azaria Mbatha
educational organization, we are particularly pleased to show work from another successful. The “Second Generation” artists, inspired by the artworks and early suc- Arthur Fata John Muafangejo
country and continent; enabling our students, members, and visitors to learn about cesses of their predecessors, continued to move the art form into new and excit- Tapfuma Gutsa Joseph Muzondo
these artists who work in stone sculpture, as well as the tools and methods they use. ing directions that captivated art lovers and critics internationally. This exhibition Chituwa Jemali Richard Rhode
features works from artists of the first, second, and third generation of Zimbabwean Colleen Madamombe Peter Sibeko
We are grateful to Russell who has spent years collecting the work and is eager to Stone Sculptors. Damian Manuhwa
share his knowledge of the craft and we are indebted to Brenda Danilowitz for her Bernard Manyandure
fine scholarship in writing the catalog text. Transforming African Modernism: 25 years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980- Eddie Masaya
2005) posed several curatorial challenges. First, twenty-five years is a long time. Bernard Matemara
We thank the SSAC Board of Directors and exhibition committee for their enthusiastic The challenge was not so much what to include, but what to leave out. It is inevitable, Bryn Mteki
support of this exhibition and also our exhibition sponsors: Panopticon Imaging, given the physical limitations of the display space, that some artists and artworks Sylvester Mubayi
Susan Dickie, and BJ & Steve Andrus for their dedication to our mission and their that should have been included in the show are not. Second, much of the distribution Cosmos Muchenje
generosity. of the artists’ works over the years was done by diverse individuals with little record Nicholas Mukomberanwa
keeping by the artists themselves. Exhibition histories and artist biographies are Henry Munyaradzi
It is our great privilege to share the work of these Zimbabwean artists with you. therefore woefully incomplete. Joseph Mutasa
Joseph Muzondo
Sarah Hannan The works of over two dozen artists are represented here. The exhibition has been Joseph Ndandarika
Executive Director selected and organized to show a timeline in the development of the art form. There- Bernard Takawira
South Shore Art Center fore, although some artists have several works in the exhibition, there has been no John Takawira
intention to feature any one artist or artist style. Some of the artists have simple Ndale Wilo
styles and some complex. Some of the artists are inspired by nature, human emo-
No Looking Back, 2002, Joseph Mutasa tion, or family motifs, while others are politically inspired. Although the artists were
Black serpentine, 32 x 16 x 10 in at the time of the artwork’s creation all living or working in Zimbabwe, they represent
140 lbs a diverse group of people with different artistic goals.

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TRANSFORMING AFRICAN MODERNISM: modernist works of the Zimbabwean artists of the 1960s and 70s with their emphasis five life-size forms wrapped in fabric and bound with strips of bark. “The spectacle

25 YEARS OF ZIMBABWE STONE SCULPTURE (1980-2005) on form, truth to materials, and the seductive beauty of highly polished stone. “Over
the years I’ve been trying, even consciously, to move out of the mainstream of the
of death in Africa,” he told Huggins. “Ethiopian famine and the Rwanda genocide…
the forms are corpses…or they are sleeping forms waiting for life. There is genesis
Brenda Danilowitz stone sculpture movement … I would like my work to be seen as an attempt to break … death and recreation and regeneration all the time, at every moment.” Thus Gutsa
new ground,” he said in 1998. acknowledges the universal cycle of death and rebirth within which the specific Af-
rican experience of life and death is located, by drawing attention to the paradoxes
In 1989 Tapfuma Gutsa was one of a handful of artists from Africa whom curator Grace that coexist in his reality—the crap and the fertility.
Stanislaus selected to exemplify the theme of a major exhibition at the Studio Muse-
um in Harlem—“Contemporary African Art: Changing Traditions.” Since then, Gutsa’s In the tall stately figure titled “The Cathedral,” Gutsa juxtaposes a blue gray stone
work has fulfilled its promise of artistic toughness and invention that was presaged with roughly carved wooden spires. In one view, perhaps the front of the figure, the
“Modern art in Africa is vital, marked by its movement. It will not stop still so that we the stone. The top heavy configuration of this piece sets up a condition of fragility
in the works shown at the Studio Museum, which accepted, and simultaneously set stone appears as the fusion of two figures with the wood attachments seeming to be
can attempt to place it in categories.” within the monumentality of the stone—the notion that the power within can easily
out to challenge, conventions of Zimbabwe sculpture. two heads. A couple? Perhaps. Seen from the opposite side, the couple fuses into a
—Philip Ravenhill be undone and toppled. What is ultimately most significant about Mukomberanwa’s
single figure, its full curved “hips” suggesting decidedly female outlines. Here the
achievement and that of many of the younger artists who followed him, is that he
In the mid-1990s Gutsa began to push his challenge to the pureness and integrity of smooth almost lyrical gray stone has been hacked away, exposing the interior—like a
1980, the year Zimbabwe was born as an independent post-colonial state, marked was able to combine the modernist ideas of pure form and truth to materials—first
stone beyond what others could imagine. Working a single piece of stone to produce flayed body, exposing a powerful duality of gender and emotion.
a milestone for the country’s contemporary art. Independence brought new oppor- presented to him in European examples—with the core of his own experience, to pro-
differentiations in textures and color was one thing, but creating assemblages of
tunities and wider horizons as the western art world began to turn its gaze on newly duce a new tradition of African art. More important than the example of Western
multiple stones and combining these with other materials both natural and man- Cosmos Muchenje, working on a smaller scale in the piece “Torso,” achieves a fluidity
emerging countries around the globe. This exhibition, Transforming African Mod- artists’ work, Mukomberanwa’s mentor, Frank McEwen instilled in him the notion of
made—wood, bones, and metals was entirely another. His aim was to create work that of form and dappled color that embodies the universal ideal of the female nude. Like
ernism: 25 years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980-2005), covers the twenty-five the unique work of art. Later the artist would recall the importance of this lesson in
engaged and challenged, rather than simply pleased and delighted, his audience. Joseph Muzondo, Muchenje worked as a painter in two-dimensions, before turning
years that followed independence. It presents Zimbabwean sculptors in a new light, innovation and creativity—the injunction “never to repeat.”
“Beautiful stones don’t speak back …I think if you want to get to people’s hearts and to sculpture. This contributes to the sensitivity to color and texture apparent in his
juxtaposing works by the “masters” of the 1960s generation with those of younger
minds you don’t want to dole out the whole thing in one sitting. You need somebody work. Because it has neither head, nor complete limbs,” Torso “ remains a fragment.
artists. Rooted in the artists’ worlds, the works, especially those created from the It was an idea that gained ground with a new generation of artists, born in the 1950s
to look at the thing and come back to it again and get engaged with the work. The Hewing closely to the abstract vocabulary inherited from such predecessors as Ber-
1990s on, show how the artists’ worlds expanded in terms of form, technique, and and the 1960s, who came of age as the newly independent Zimbabwe was com-
work is about engagement. One-to-one. The viewer must think.” nard Takawira (1946–2006) Muchenje and other younger artists convey the inherent
subject, moving beyond local references to mirror the events of their times. ing into existence. Joseph Muzondo, who was born in 1953, told an interviewer: “I
qualities of their material in a completely contemporary idiom.
thought of coming up with something different—something that would challenge
Gutsa harbors few illusions that art can intervene politically. It was in full view of the
While it’s hardly news that cultural products—books, movies, television, music and what they call Shona* sculpture. People ended up calling it “Muzondo” sculpture.
horror of the 1994 genocide in Rwanda that he produced one of his richest pieces, While the evolution of contemporary Zimbabwean art can be investigated according
art—have been widely available in most of Africa for decades, the construct of an By the early 1980s Muzondo’s studies in Zimbabwe and abroad in Great Britain and
a ritualistic work about death perversely titled “African Genesis.” He believes that to several different milestones, none is more significant than the period in which
untainted “primal Africa” in the art of the continent lingers on. But as culture has Austria led to experiments in printmaking, textile design, and painting, as well as
a work of art “is a gadget of influence” a gesture that the artist puts into the world Rhodesia emerged from the grips of colonialism and the destructions of the civil war
become increasingly portable and transportable, everybody’s parameters have been in sculpture. Taking their cue from the textural richness of those two-dimensional
to provoke a reaction. “It grips you, or it shocks you... and sometimes even the art- that followed, as the independent nation of Zimbabwe. Transforming African Mod-
expanded. In the twenty-first century there are many Zimbabwean sculptors working media the sculptural surfaces became more diverse as Muzondo exploited the colors
ist is shocked.” Like the finest artist-provocateurs, Gutsa uses his work to shake his ernism: 25 years of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture (1980-2005) is exceptional in that
beyond the traditional monolith and often in provocative ways. and textures that lay within the stone. “The deeper you go, the darker it becomes,”
audience into paying attention to history. “African Genesis” came out of the Gen- all the works on display were collected directly from the artists over an extended
he observed.
esis Program, an intercultural collaborative exhibition between three German and time period. It thus presents a capsule of selected works of unusual range and qual-
Nicholas Mukomberanwa (1940–2002), a pioneer, and eventual doyen of the so-
three Zimbabwean artists. Gutsa had made some cone-shaped metal forms, about ity that documents a key period of recent southern African history.
called “first generation” of Zimbabwean sculptors, epitomizes this move. By the late Muzondo’s close contemporary, Tapfuma Gutsa, arguably today’s most prominent
a meter in diameter, which echoed the shapes of the thatched roofs of the round
1990s when he created the monumental “Chief’s Messenger” his work shows a shift Zimbabwean artist, discovered that moving his work forward involved removing him-
stone buildings on his property. He covered these with a film of cow dung, commonly
away from anecdotal detail and towards simplification and iconic presentation. In self temporarily from Zimbabwe. In 1982 he received a British Council scholarship
used as mortar and floor covering in African domestic construction, and remarked
“Chief’s Messenger” the focus shifts from an emphasis on smooth and pure sur- to London’s City and Guilds School of Art where he remained until 1985 when he re-
to gallery owner Derek Huggins that these forms were “volcanoes….there are some
faces to the exploration of the ruggedness and uneven coloration revealed within turned to Zimbabwe. Gutsa wanted to strike out on a path that diverged from the high
in Africa. The cow dung is for the crap of Africa, and for fertility.” “African Genesis”
consisted of three “volcanoes” set out on the ground. Around them Gutsa assembled

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A SHORT HISTORY OF ZIMBABWEAN STONE SCULPTURE Rejoice, 2002, Joseph Mutasa
Brenda Danilowitz Black serpentine, 76 x 8 x 6 in
280 lbs

The story of how Zimbabwean stone sculptors came to occupy a firmly established With his wide connections in the international art world, he was a natural choice to
position in the international world of art museums and galleries goes back many oversee this permanent collection of European painting and sculpture and to bring
years­—some observers claim as far back as the fourteenth century and the construc- European-style culture to this “apathetic and reluctant” colonial outpost.
tion of a series of architecturally complex stone villages, the zimbabwes or “ruler’s
places” from which the newly independent country (the former British colony of But McEwen had other ideas, chief among them the nurturing of local African art-
Southern Rhodesia) took its name in 1980. The ruined remains of these settlements ists. Taking counsel from a museum employee, Thomas Mukarobgwa, he informed
were discovered in the 19th century, and the largest became known as “Great Zimba- himself about the local African culture. In 1957 he started a painting workshop at the
bwe.” Along with what remained of the architecture of “Great Zimbabwe” were small museum, and in 1965 sculpture was added. McEwen was thoroughly schooled in the
artifacts, impressively carved totems, and imposing bird-like figures fashioned mainstream modernist ideas of the French art world of the 1930s. These included a
from the stone that is an abundant resource in mineral-rich Zimbabwe. return to classical forms which affected even such radical movements as Cubism. The
previously fractured surfaces of Cubist painting and sculpture became more con-
The discovery mystified Western archaeologists for years. Their prejudices, com- trolled and smoothed over, and issues of formal beauty and purity took precedence
bined with the political agenda of the colonial government, would not allow them over the mundane subject matter of early Cubism. In sculpture, a belief in truth of
to admit that such sophisticated productions were the work of the uneducated, and materials and the integrity of direct carving was linked to a reverence for the direct
to them, primitive and uncivilized, local black peoples. Today there is no longer any appeal of “primitive art” and the notion of the unschooled artist whose innocent
doubt that the early inhabitants and creators of these settlements were the ances- vision was unclouded by the traumas of the two massive wars from which Europe, at
tors of present day Zimbabweans. mid-century, was struggling to recover.

Although there is no evidence at all for a direct link between the stone birds and This background, and his knowledge and understanding of modern sculptors like
figures of “Great Zimbabwe” and the renaissance in stone carving that began in the Moore, Brancusi, and Lipschitz is a key to understanding both McEwen’s excitement
early 1960s, the resonances are tantalizing. As Celia Winter-Irving has pointed out, at the opportunity to develop an art workshop in Africa, and the methods he em-
the shared material and methods indicate that the present day sculpture is not “a ployed: “Instead of cramming the unformed mind with foreign information, example
totally isolated phenomenon” but a new occurrence of creative expression which has and imposed subject matter, it is accepted from the start that the sensitive latent
existed for centuries. artist possesses the spirit of art, to be brought out, respected and nurtured” (McE-
wen quoted in “Frank McEwen Returns to Origins: New Directions for African Arts”
In 1952 Frank McEwen, artist, critic and exhibition organizer, who was born in African Arts 1:2, 1967). While McEwen desired to avoid imposing European ideas on
Mexico, brought up in England, and educated in France, was invited by the the artists who attended his workshop (he deliberately did not call it a “school”), it Horse Stool, 2004, Joseph Muzondo
Southern Rhodesia government to advise on the planning and construction of a new was inevitable that his artistic predilections showed up in their work. Springstone, 12 x 14 x 6 in
art museum in Salisbury (now Harare). When the Rhodes National Gallery, a model 50 lbs
of mid-century modernism, was opened in 1955, McEwen was made the first director.

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ABOUT THE ARTFORM Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Russell Schneider, Curator

Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture has gained world-wide recognition since it first emerged selves, obtaining art supplies is relatively simple for these artists.
as a distinctive new art practice in the late 1950s. The large varieties and abun-
dant supplies of naturally occurring rock formations of the Zimbabwe landscape Prominent Zimbabwean artists like Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Henry Munyaradzi
provided artists with a medium unique to their country. Starting out as a small and and Tapfuma Gutsa have been featured in major international art shows, such as the
eager group of students at a newly established painting and sculpture workshop at groundbreaking 1990 exhibition Contemporary African Artists: Changing Tradition
Harare’s National Gallery (now the National Gallery of Zimbabwe) in 1957, art- at New York’s Studio Museum in Harlem, the 1991 Venice Biennale,the Africa95 Arts
ists soon mastered the technical skills required to make their impression on the festival in London, and Genesis—an intercultural collaboration between Germany
resistant stone boulders and began to create forms of great sculptural variety and and Zimbabwe in 1995–1997.
complexity.

Soon the work was receiving attention outside of Zimbabwe, in Great Britain,
Europe and the United States where exhibitions drew the attention of the media,
including Newsweek, which in September 1987 hailed it as “perhaps the most
important new art form to emerge from Africa in this century.” As art historians,
museum directors and curators, gallery owners, collectors and the public at large
began to recognize that the art of Africa was not confined to time bound age-old
traditional works mainly carved from wood, but that the tradition was alive and
growing, a new audience for this contemporary art developed.

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. The inherent character of the
stone is used both in its rough cut and textured state or heated and burnished to
a high gloss to reveal rich greens,browns, blacks and grays. The hardness, mass,
shape and volume of the serpentine, quartz, sandstone, verdite, granite, steatite
and other stones define the formal characteristics of the completed works. In addi- Young Woman, 2005, Chituwa Jemali Women, 1996, Nicholas Mukomberanwa
tion to their weightiness, the polished surface gives a quality of classic refinement. Dolomite, 24 x 18 x 9 in Brown serpentine, 28 x 12 x 16 in
Because the stone is quarried locally, often on land owned by the artists them- 95 lbs 320 lbs

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 Tapfuma Gutsa
Chief’s Messenger, 1997, Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Brown serpentine, 32 x 12 x 10 in
185 lbs

The Poet, 1994, Tapfuma Gutsa

Nicholas Mukomberanwa Serpentine, 61 x 18 x 12 in
Graphite on paper, 11 x 8 in 900 lbs

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 Cathedral, 1995, Tapfuma Gutsa Joseph Mutasa
Wood, serpentine, 76 x 23 x 10 in
525 lbs

Lunar Woman, 1996, Tapfuma Gutsa

Wood, serpentine, eggshells, 24 x 30 x 14 in
165 lbs

Guinea Fowl, 2005, Joseph Mutasa

Lepidolite, 9 x 14 x 7 in
40 lbs

Heavy Thoughts, 1995, Tapfuma Gutsa

Wood, 29 x 15 x 10 in Herd Boy, 2005, Joseph Mutasa
45 lbs Leopard rock, 11 x 8 x 4 in
42 lbs

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 Chikonzero Chazunguza Joseph Muzondo

The Tonga Spirit, 2000, Joseph Muzondo

Springstone and steel bar, 24 x 14 x 26 in
158 lbs

Head of the Guru, 2005, Joseph Muzondo

Springstone, 30 x 14 x 12 in
Muza, 1996, Chikonzero Chazunguza 165 lbs
Silkscreen, 5 x 4 in

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Chituwa Jemali Bernard Manyandure John Takawira Simply Beautiful, 1981, John Takawira
Springstone, 15 x 7 x 8 in
28 lbs
Troop Leader, 1983, Bernard Manyandure
Serpentine, 19 x 8 x 11 in
70 lbs

Facing the Future, 2005, Chituwa Jemali

Serpentine, 66 x 16 x 11 in
475 lbs

Stork Bird, 1985, John Takawira

Springstone, 12 x 38 x 10 in
135 lbs

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Henry Munyaradzi Cosmos Muchenje
Dung Beetle, 1992, Henry Munyaradzi
Opal stone, 11 x 12 x 14 in
46 lbs

Night Ape, 1983, Henry Munyaradzi

Serpentine, 23 x 8 x 6 in
43 lbs

Two Faces, 2005, Cosmos Muchenje

Fruit serpentine, 20 x 6 x 3 in
25 lbs

Spirit Hare, 1984, Henry Munyaradzi Torso, 2002, Cosmos Muchenje

Serpentine, 28 x 11 x 6 in Fruit serpentine, 22 x 5 x 3 in
78 lbs 45 lbs

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Dominic Benhura Lameck Bonjisi Wise Man,2003, Lameck Bonjisi
Serpentine, 24 x 4 x 9 in
40 lbs

Father & Son, 1995, Lameck Bonjisi

Black serpentine, 45 x 22 x 10 in
275 lbs

Playing with Mom, 2005, Dominic Benhura

Serpentine, 11 x 17 x 3 in
30 lbs

Party Dress, 2005, Dominic Benhura

Serpentine inlaid with white dolomite, 24 x 20 x 4 in
95 lbs

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Fanizani Akuda ABOUT THE STONES

Leopard Rock
It is similar to serpentine; having a creamy yellow color with black blotches. The
only known deposit of leopard rock is in Zimbabwe. It is very difficult stone to
carve, only skilled sculptors will attempt this rock. leopard rock when polished has
a beautiful glazed finish.

Lepidolite
Lepidolite is a semi-precious stone with various shades of purple. It can be an ex-
tremely hard stone. Only skilled sculptors attempt to carve lepidolite. The stone is a
quartz with lithium giving it its color. It has been used as a source for the extraction
of lithium.

Opal Stone (Opaline)

A harder stone (4–5 on the Mohs scale), opal stone is known for its extremely close
Photo taken at Nicholas Mukomberanwa’s farm in Ruwa, Zimbabwe grain texture. The color green is predominate, from milky light colored green with
orangey iron deposits, browns, fire-reds, blacks, sometimes mottled or specked
with red, orange and bluish dots or patches. A favorite stone with carvers, opal
Cobalt stone is not as hard as springstone and some serpentines and can be rather brittle,
Cobalt is a brittle, relatively rare hard metal, closely resembling iron and nickel in will be polished to a high gloss finish.
appearance. It has a hardness of between 5 and 6 on the Mohs scale.

Dolomite Pyrophyllite (Wonderstone)

Dolomite is often pink or a pinkish white but can also be white, grey or even brown Pyrophyllite is commonly known as “Wonderstone.” Its grey color is from deposits
or black depending on whether iron is present in the crystal. Dolomite in its com- found in South Africa and mottled from deposits found in Namibia. Not many artists
mon form is made up of group of small rhombohedron crystals with curved saddle- carve this medium. It has a very fine grain construction and is measured between
like faces. Dolomite is a common sedimentary rock where iron and manganese 2–3 on the Mohs scale. The composition of the stone is compressed volcanic ash
Two Families, 1992, Fanizani Akuda deposits are sometimes present. and is inert and is famous for not being a conductor of heat or electricity.
Dolomite, 20 x 14 x 12 in
160 lbs

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Ottosdal is the only place in South Africa where the unique “Wonderstone” pyro- by countries’ native people for thousands of years. Pieces of soapstone have been Where does the stone come from? sculpture is cold, can the final shining process be completed. Since stone, being a
phyllite is mined. The color of the stone found there is grey. Brandberg in Namibia found in igloos in the Arctic, tombs of Pharaohs, Chinese and Indian palaces and The majority of the stones used for carving originate from the Eastern Highlands natural product, it will absorb wax readily.
is where this stone is found. The color of the stone found there has a variety of col- the mountains and valleys of Africa. area commonly known as “Nyanga Serpentine” or “The Great Dyke”, a volcanic
ors due to mineral inclusions. It is extensively used in nuclear power stations and ridge running for 1300 kilometers across the center of the country in the direction
was used for making tiles for rocket re-entry shields so that rockets could re-enter Springstone south west to north east. It is the longest linear mass of volcanic rock in the world.
the earth atmosphere. Once this stone has been polished, it has a beautiful high Springstone, the hardest stone generally carved (5–6 on the Mohs scale), Spring- For millions of years, heat and pressure concentrated on this ancient rock mass
gloss finish and turns from grey to black with the application of wax. stone is a very fine grained hard stone that polishes to an amazing very dark brown have created a unique mineral fusion, which can now be seen in all the different
or black lustrous finish—not surprisingly its extremely fine finish and excellent colors, shadings and combinations of hard and soft stones.
Ruby Verdite durability is highly sought after. A regular feature of this black stone is to have a
Ruby verdite is a relatively soft stone (rated 3–4 on the Mohs scale) at certain layer of chrome ore running through the sculpture. This vein of ore is extremely Sculptors in Zimbabwe carve a variety of stone from the hardest springstone to the
places due to the ruby corundum inclusions, it can be very hard. Corundum is the hard. During the polishing of the sculpture the softer stone adjacent to the vein softest of soapstone. The stone range includes verdite, many types of serpentine,
second hardest stone on earth behind a diamond; only the more experienced sculp- wears away faster than the chrome vein, leaving the vein standing out proud. A opaline, dolomite, leopard rock, various steatite and soapstones. This gives the art-
tor will attempt to carve this semi-precious stone. It has a unique mottled emerald further feature of springstone is it may be covered with a thick layer of reddish/ ists a wide range of textures and colors to choose and work from. The stone colors
green color with brown and green striations, changing patterns with changing brown material. This is the oxidization of the iron in the stone. Many of the artists are formed by trace elements and minerals included in the molten stone million of
colors shades ranging from golden browns to rich emerald greens and blues. use this additional feature of the stone to give a sculpture a two-tone effect. This years ago. The main inclusions are chrome, copper, and ruby corundum, all forming
ferrous oxide is softer than the heart of the stone. part of the magic and mystique of this magnificent, exquisite contemporary art
Zimbabwe’s ruby verdite contains corundum and is a by-product of the extraction of form.
the corundum mineral. Corundum is a member of the ruby family and ruby verdite Verdite
was declared a semi-precious stone by the British Geological Society back in about Verdite is an exotic and wonderful stone of rare quality. It captures the mysterious Serpentine and springstone are the stones preferred by the artists. They have
1985. So besides being beautiful it also has an intrinsic value and is becoming rare. an extensive range of hardness and color. The color or combination of colors has Sculpture tools
and beautiful colors of an age-old area of Africa. Like the ever-changing sea, it is
Ruby verdite is only found in Zimbabwe where it is known as “Green Gold.” The only infinite in its variety of lovely shades and patterns, usually in green with inclusions left the artists with over 200 different color stone variations from which to carve.
other known deposit of verdite in the world is found in South Africa and it does not of blues, golds, reds and browns. Verdite is an ancient brilliant green semi-precious stone over 3.6 billion years old.
contain corundum and therefore is not deemed to be a semi-precious stone. Verdite can be an extremely hard stone as it may have areas where ruby corundum,
Verdite occurs amongst the oldest rock in the world, dating back over 3500 million the second hardest stone on earth, is included. Zimbabwean verdite, commonly
Serpentine years. The only known deposits are found in areas where gold was first discovered known as ruby verdite, is unique to Zimbabwe because of these ruby corundum
Many of the patterns and colors seen in these rock deposits throughout Zimbabwe in Africa many centuries ago. It is related to the serpentinites and occurs in various inclusions. The only other deposit of verdite is found in South Africa.
are similar to those seen in some snake skins, which is why the term “serpentine” lens-shaped pods dotted over a 25-kilometer range. The material has no cleavage
has come to be used to describe them. There are no scientific categories that and is riddled with intrusions of corundum (ruby) crystals (hence the name ruby Due to their ability to read the stones, many of the artists do not mark or draw on
perfectly match the names and meanings that sculptors use, but springstone, opal verdite), quarts, calcite and mica. Chromium is the mineral, which gives Verdite its the stone surface but follow the stone’s natural form and contours when sculpt-
stone, leopard rock, lepidolite, cobolt and golden serpentine are all names that va- distinctive rich green color—ruby verdite can be extremely hard, corundum is the ing. The stone itself dictates to the artist the subject hidden within it. Once the
rieties (there are more than 200 of them) of this stone are given. The colors range second hardest stone on earth. hammering and chiseling are completed, the artist then starts to smooth the
from brown to black to green, and are sometimes variegated. Serpentine stone is nearly completed rough sculpture’s surface with various diamond studded and high
2.6 billion years old. Amongst the African people, verdite takes precedence in their traditions, a basis for carbon steel files to achieve a finer smoother finished surface. In the next step the
ancient craftsmanship and tribal love. In powdered form, it has been used by witch sculpture is honed (polished) using various grades of wet/dry water paper. The last
Soapstone doctors as a mystical preparation for inducing fertility. grade to be used is either a 1200 or a 1500 grit. This will give a very fine smooth
Soapstone is a natural soft stone, with a “soapy” texture when wet. Although some- surface ready to absorb the final clear waxing process. The sculpture is then placed
what soft, soapstone is a very dense stone, denser than marble, slate, limestone near a fire or left in the sun (similar artificial methods of heating can also be used)
to be heated before applying coats of beeswax or clear wax polish to draw out Nicholas Mukomberanwa
and even granite, making it naturally waterproof-liquid spilled onto the stone´s
surface is not absorbed. Soapstone is found on every continent and has been used the colors of the stone. The sculpture is then left to cool down and only once the

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 Board of Directors
President Lauren Farrell
President-Elect William Wenzel
Treasurer Richard Horn
Secretary Sara Holbrook

Kimberley M. Albanese
Elizabeth Allard
Tanya Bodell
Bruce Cameron
Lilly Cleveland
Craig Coffey
Sean Cunning
Matthew Cunningham
Susan Dickie
Anthony DiPaolo
Andrea Hillier
William Houser
Frank Neer
Barbara Sheehan
Josiah Stevenson
Mark Tosi
Laurie Wimberly

SSAC Staff
Kim Alemian, Graphic Designer/Webmaster
Cheryl Cole, Office Manager
Heather Collins, Director of Community Programs
Candace Cramer, Chief Development Officer
Pat Frederickson, Membership Coordinator
Sarah Hannan, Executive Director
Virginia Holloway, Reception/Gallery Sitter
Rhythmic Jazz, 1994, Chikonzero Chazunguza Gary Najarian, Facility Manager
Silkscreen, 19 x 24 in Anthony Pilla, Education Coordinator
Tim Waite, Festival Coordinator

Catalogue Design: Kimberlee Alemian

Photography:
Patrick Wiseman
Roland Hejdstrom
John Brewer

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SOUTH SHORE ART CENTER
119 Ripley Road, Cohasset, MA 02025
Gallery Hours: M–S 10–4, Sun 12–4
781 383 2787 > www.ssac.org