Afrocelt

CLAUD NYANHONGO (1934 -

Claud Nyanhongo was born in 1934 in the Nyanga district of Zimbabwe. He only began to sculpt in 1964, and for many years carving remained a leisure activity. At that time he worked as a cattle-dip supervisor. However, the onset of the civil war brought guerrilla warfare to his home area and also brought an end to both his formal employment and to his spare-time carving.

When Zimbabwe achieved independence in 1980, he came to Harare and lived for several years with a fellow artist from Nyanga, Moses Masaya. Since that time he has emerged as not only a serious artist but also a successful one.

Nyanhongo prefers to work in the green serpentine stone found in his home district. His technique is similar to that of most Zimbabwean artists in that he works directly into the stone without any advance planning and sketching. His forms, usually based on birds or humans, are invariably softly rounded, quiet and reflective, and follow the natural shape of the stone. Artists such as Nyanhongo are men of spiritual insight, and their art reflects a spiritual and artistic tradition of great richness and individuality.

In 1989, Frank McEwen, the first Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and the 'father figure' of Shona sculpture, saw Nyanhongo's work for the first time. In a subsequent letter to the Matombo Gallery, McEwen commented on one of his sculptures as follows: "(It) is a very vital feat of sculpture dependent also upon its inner meaning. It is unforgettable.... How much further can a sculpture go beyond the exaltation of harmonious forms of intense meaning and beauty? It is a work in which the higher reaches are indescribable in words; as in all great art, it surpasses the shallow verbiage of professional writers."

Nyanhongo continues to live and work at his Nyanga home and his sculptures are clear evidence that he has found the inner peace that eluded him during 1970's when his home district was much affected by guerrilla warfare. Nyanhongo's significant contribution to Zimbabwe's art goes beyond his sculptures. Several of his children, including Agnes, Gedion and Wellington are established artists in their own right.