Gallery Pieces
Abstracts
Since the 1950s the stone sculpture produced by the master artists of Zimbabwe has justifiably been called the best known expression of sub-Saharan contemporary art. This particular art has no historical roots in Zimbabwe and has not derived from any identifiable indigenous artistic tradition. The sculpture has been made credible as serious art, as opposed to "tourist" art produced during that time in other African countries, by its appearance in public museums throughout Europe and North America. Rich in symbolism, imagery and association, it shares the same properties as many examples of the best contemporary work done outside the "third world." The work is nevertheless completely African, representing expressions of the traditional beliefs of the societies from which the artists have emerged. Yet, unlike more accepted tribal art, the sculpture does not have a truly ceremonial or ritualistic function. The aesthetic origins of the sculpture presented in this section lie in the artists' conceptions of the spiritual dimensions of their own cultures.
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