Extracts from Reveiws 1960-2004
“But in Africa a great movement is stirring. . . Something new is happening here, a fresh creative flood that will burst out to give a new dimension to international expression.”
1962 Arts Review, London (Institute of Contemporary Art, London). Curated by Frank McEwen.
“One of the most important exhibitions to hit London since the war.”
1963 Studio London Commentary, London. Curated by Frank McEwen.
“The exhibition at the Musee Rodin. . . was a myriad spectacle of form , colour, substance and line that filled the viewers with that intangible quality through which noverbal communication is perceived and received. This was in its ultimate dimension.”
1971 African Arts Los Angeles (Musee Rodin, Paris). Curated by Frank McEwen.
“It is the urge to manifest the connection between the physical world and the world of cause and spirit which takes Shona sculpture into that major league of art and sculpture and humanity’s profoundest expressions.”
1983 The Sunday Telegraph, London (Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Commonwealth
Institute, London). Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“These marvellous Shona sculptors from Zimbabwe. . . speak for Africa, but they also speak for us all; they restore a dignity to art which it is in danger of losing.”
1984 The Sunday Telegraph, London (Henry Munyaradzi, Commonwealth Institute,
London) Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“Now that Henry Moore is dead, who is the greatest stone-carver in the world? In my experience there are three outstanding contenders. . . and all three come from Zimbabwe.”
1988 Arts Review, London (Sylvester Mubayi, London) Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“Shona sculpture is perhaps the most important new art form to emerge from Africa in this century.”
1989 Newsweek, U.S.A visiting Roy Guthrie's Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare.
“The quality of finish, the style and the concept of the work add up to the most complete definition of late 20th century sculpture. . . clean, sharp creativity produces work which I should call great as well as beautiful.”
1989 Sunday Independent, Dublin
“This is the birth of great national art, capable of speaking about the whole of creation, from personal and family feeling to the world of spirit, soul and self. It is a thrilling adventure of contemporary art.”
1990 Arts Review, London (Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield, England) Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“These giant stone sculptures are the most hauntingly evocative images to come out of Africa in the past century. . . the greatest contemporary collection of African art ever seen in this country.”
2000 Evening Standard, London (Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, London) Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“This exhibit gently pulls us back to re-examine the source from which most contemporary art has evolved. These Zimbabwean sculptures have gone beyond the roots of mankind to a place which existed before in the heart and essence of the stone.”
2002 The Globe, Arizona (Boyce Thompson Arboretum, Arizona) Curated by Roy Guthrie.
“The technical quality of these works is impressive, especially considering the unyielding nature of the material. But technique is not an end; rather it is a means for these artists to express emotions, especially when the subjects are family relationships.”
2004 The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio (Franklin Park Conservatory, Ohio) Curated by Roy Guthrie.