30 Dec Artist Spotlights: Gedion Nyanhongo

Arizona-based artist Gedion Nyanhongo’s stone sculptures explore the shared humanity found in the culture and art of the Shona tribe of his native Zimbabwe with all people around the world. His sculpture Song of Protectedness depicts a family of six held by a pair of hands. With their heads raised to the sky, the composition is reminiscent of the storyteller figurines of the Cochiti Pueblo. “My sculpture celebrates the life we all share, regardless of where you come from or what color you are,” he says. “We all live and enjoy the same life, and when we go through hard times, we help each other. My work is there as a mirror to remind people of those connections we all have.”

Nyanhongo grew up in a closely connected family in the village of Mazarura near Nyanga National Park, not far from Zimbabwe’s eastern border with Mozambique. His father, Claud Nyanhongo, created functional art, such as hand-carved wooden stools and basins, before establishing his own reputation as a stone sculptor. Young Gedion followed his example, fashioning animals from tree roots, and won a provincial award for his work in seventh grade. Though the schoolmaster took his prize money to buy supplies for all the students, Claud comforted his son with wise words that still guide him to this day: “Your blessing is in your blood, and no one can take that away from you. You will still shine.”

Cyclone | Leopard Stone | 40 x 20 x 12 inches

Shine Nyanhongo did. After high school, he moved to his nation’s capital, Harare, and worked multiple jobs as a motor mechanic and a gallery assistant while apprenticing with his father’s friend, master stone sculptor Joseph Ndandarika. “When I finished working with him,” Nyanhongo recalls, “he told me, ‘You are free now to go anywhere in the world, share your vision, and make people happy.’”

Nyanhongo quickly progressed from showing small pieces in the gallery where he’d worked, to joining an artist’s community centered on a 26-acre Harare sculpture park, to participating in exhibitions of Zimbabwean sculpture that traveled to Europe and the United States. That led to offers from galleries in America to represent his work. Ultimately, Nyanhongo’s move led him to Arizona, where he’s building a home and sculpture garden in Cave Creek, north of Scottsdale. He has another home and studio in Fostoria, Ohio, south of Toledo.

Gedion Nyanhongo marvels at how far his art has transported him. “I walked with no shoes on my feet to a school with no lights,” he recalls. “But now I’m here brushing shoulders with the artists and art lovers of America. By looking at my sculptures and being able to attach their own stories to them, people can say, ‘Here’s another human just like me.’”

Song of Protectedness | Opal Stone | 38 x 29 x 12 inches

See Gedion Nyanhongo sculpting and displaying his finished creations at the Celebration of Fine Art in Scottsdale, Arizona, through March 29. His works are also available through Gedion Galleries in Cave Creek, Arizona, and Fostoria, Ohio.

Based in Marin County, California, Norman Kolpas is the author of more than 40 books and hundreds of articles. He also teaches nonfiction writing in The Writers’ Program at UCLA Extension.