About Spirits & Stone
“The spirits of our ancestors come to us in our dreams to reveal the images that dwell within the stone...”
Tonderai Chikuhwa, Curator, Spirits & Stone
Shona Stone Carving
‘Was it spontaneous combustion or the flaring of a long-smouldering flame? The sudden rise to artistic prominence of Zimbabwean Shona stone sculpture during the past six decades has sent art historians scurrying for easy explanations…’ Amongst the artists and the peoples of Zimbabwe it is quite clear — the spirits in the stone speak to us all, as they always have…
Michelangelo spoke of 'liberating the figure from the marble that imprisons it...’ While he and the stone carvers of Zimbabwe may have been separated by time, space and circumstance, they were unified by a singular ethos — that the essence of the stone reveals itself through the artist’s communion with the material and the spiritual. Shona stone sculpture is an art that speaks to a global community and across generations.
Our Mission
In every generation there are sculptors who bring new vitality and power to their sculptural interpretations, men and women who masterfully release the spirit in the stones. The mission of the Spirits & Stone Collection is to nurture the remarkable talent of the young artists who represent a fifth generation of Zimbabwean stone carvers, to promote their ‘unique voice’. In the Galleries contained here you will find a diverse range of their artistic expression. While several ‘themes’ run through the Collection, one of its central elements and aims is to pay homage to the Women who shape and sustain us — Our mothers, daughters, sisters, companions on life’s path — Our inspiration…
Our aim is to establish Spirits & Stone as the most profound Collection of Shona sculpture in North America, and in the process raise the value of this unique art form and elevate the artists.
Through the sale and auction of pieces, this Collection sustains the Katiro Stone Cooperative which brings together a group of talented sculptors from different parts of the country. The Cooperative is based in Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe.
“Shona stone sculpture is a profound expression of human connections that transcend geography and time, and unites the human spirit”
The New York Times