'Proud Woman' is an original opal serpentine stone sculpture by the contemporary Zimbabwean artist Chenjerai Chiripanyanga. The artist presents in this sculpture a highly abstracted figure of a woman, her body gracefully lilting to the side as she gazes upward. Behind her head, her hair reaches backward like a waterfall, and ultimately helping to support the sculpture from the back. Though Chiripanyanga is trained in the Shona stone carving tradition, the languid figure ultimately reminds of such modern masters as Matisse and Picasso in its simple yet elegant curving lines and forms.
opal (serpentine)
31.5 x 14 x 10 inches
not signed, accompanied by a certificate of authenticity from the artist
Overall good condition with no signs of wear, chips or cracks.
Chenjerai Chiripanyanga is a professional artist working in Harare. He is one of the few sculpture artists from Zimbabwe who not only works with serpentine stone but also with rusty iron, bicycle and car parts or wood in his sculptures. The subjects of Chenjerai's work are emotional, refreshing and sometimes political. His carvings often focus on musical instruments. According to Chenjerai, "Music is the heart of our art in Zimbabwe, either traditional music or modern music influences our feelings. This directs our hands when we create." He goes further to say, “Music is important to all cultures, it's like a common language between every culture. I wish people in power would really listen to the music more closely. Maybe then we could live in unity." Chenjerai's first exhibition was held in Europe in The Hague, Netherlands in 1993. While there he demonstrated his great talent as a sculptor as well as being a very fine painter. Chenjerai continues to participate in various local and international exhibitions and has won many prizes including the National Heritage Exhibition in 1992. His work has been sold to collectors all over the world.
Shona artists and crafts people have been working in different media for generations. These include paintings, pottery, basket ware, wood carvings, and sculpture done in metal as well as the stone carvings. While there is not a long standing tradition of sculpture in what is now Zimbabwe (formerly Southern Rhodesia), stone carvings dating from the 15th century were seen in Great Zimbabwe, an excavated temple near Bulawayo. Most of the artifacts from this location have been moved to museums in Cape Town, South Africa or London.
It is generally agreed that Zimbabwean stone sculpture as seen today began during the late colonial period of the 1950's and 1960's. During this period the artists and artisans depicted many of the traditional Shona and other tribal spiritual myths.
Out of all the nations in Africa, the large varieties and abundant supplies of rock formations present throughout the Zimbabwe landscape provide artists with a medium for sculpture and carvings unique to their country. The Shona art sculpture of Zimbabwe combines the wonderful varieties presented by the stone with images drawn both from reality and abstract symbolism.
Much of the stone used by Shona artists is quarried in areas which are adjacent or quite near the villages where the work is created. Often the land on which the stone is found is owned by the village or the local artists. The artists use stone such as Serpentine (somewhat old, having been formed about 2.6 billion years ago), with more than 200 color variations. The hardest and darkest of the Serpentine varieties is black, commonly known as Springstone or Africa stone. Less seen is Lepidolite, with its beautiful pale mauve coloration; and the very hard Verdite, found mostly in darker shades of green but with other variations as well.
Commonly referred to as Rapoko stone in Zimbabwe, Steatite is a natural soft stone that falls under the general category of soapstone. Rapoko is found on every continent in the world with the possible exception of Antarctica. Its remarkable qualities have made this stone one of the most widely used minerals on earth. Over 10 million years old, Rapoko is a natural mineral, prized since ancient times for its durability, workability, beautiful character and ability to retain and radiate heat and resist chemicals. Native cultures, the world over, have carved Rapoko/Steatite into vessels, art objects, memorial and cultural items. Carved items have been found in the tombs of Pharaohs, in the igloos of the far north, in temples and palaces of China and India, in the mountains and river valleys of the Americas and the arid plains of Africa. There is a manmade ceramic product, also called Steatite, which uses the natural Rapoko stone as one of its raw materials but has no other connection to the skillful efforts of talented Shona and other African artists.
The wonderful natural character of 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, shape, density and quantity used of serpentine, verdite, sandstone, granite, steatite and other stones define the ultimate presentation of completed Shona art sculptures and carvings.
