Agnes Nyanhongo

Stone Sculptor

“My work carries a message of how I feel, and what I would 
like to say, not only to women, but to people all over the world.”

Born in 1960 in Nyanga, Agnes Nyanhongo is now one of the most prominent and successful of Zimbabwe's sculptors and one of the most acknowledged female artists in Africa. Agnes is the daughter of the well known sculptor, Claud Nyanhongo, and as a child spent a great deal of time helping him with the polishing of his work. The sensitivity with which Agnes expresses her ideas and the respect for the material that is so apparent in her work could arguably have resulted from these early formative experiences.

Agnes Nyanhongo began sculpting full time at an early age and in 1983 embarked on a three-year course at the B.A.T. Workshops in Harare, where she was considered to be one of the most promising students. Her quiet determination and belief in her work have carried it along a purposeful and individual path and have now earned her international acclaim and many awards.

Agnes works quite extensively with the human form, sometimes specifically with female issues, but always expressing a calm and watchful strength that seems so true to her own personality and character. Her inspiration is often derived from the stone itself, but much of her work depicts the natural world around her; making close observations, but ultimately working from her own mental images of the subject. However, it is with traditional Shona myths that she has become increasingly involved. Not only does she feel that these have great relevance now, but she believes, as a sculptor, she has a responsibility in keeping them alive. 

Agnes Nyanhongo’s work is always attractive, with easy lines and areas of beautiful finish alongside other, unworked surfaces. As a result the images she produces, already universal by their nature, are presented in a combination of simplicity, quiet dignity, beauty and finesse.

Born in 1960 in Nyanga, Agnes Nyanhongo is now one of the most prominent and successful of Zimbabwe's sculptors and one of the most acknowledged female artists in Africa. Agnes is the daughter of the well known sculptor, Claud Nyanhongo, and as a child spent a great deal of time helping him with the polishing of his work. The sensitivity with which Agnes expresses her ideas and the respect for the material that is so apparent in her work could arguably have resulted from these early formative experiences.

Agnes Nyanhongo began sculpting full time at an early age and in 1983 embarked on a three-year course at the B.A.T. Workshops in Harare, where she was considered to be one of the most promising students. Her quiet determination and belief in her work have carried it along a purposeful and individual path and have now earned her international acclaim and many awards.

Agnes works quite extensively with the human form, sometimes specifically with female issues, but always expressing a calm and watchful strength that seems so true to her own personality and character. Her inspiration is often derived from the stone itself, but much of her work depicts the natural world around her; making close observations, but ultimately working from her own mental images of the subject. However, it is with traditional Shona myths that she has become increasingly involved. Not only does she feel that these have great relevance now, but she believes, as a sculptor, she has a responsibility in keeping them alive. 

Agnes Nyanhongo’s work is always attractive, with easy lines and areas of beautiful finish alongside other, unworked surfaces. As a result the images she produces, already universal by their nature, are presented in a combination of simplicity, quiet dignity, beauty and finesse.

Agnes Nyanhongo

Selected Exhibitions:

1985  Africa Central - London

1985  Zimbabwe Heritage Annual

1996  Galerie Im Schlobgarten, Germany

1987  Zimbabwe Heritage Annual 
1990  Yorkshire Sculpture Park

1991  Mabwe Gallery,  Harare

1991  Zimbabwe Heritage Annual 
1992  Universal Exposition, Seville

1992 Benson Park Sculpture Garden

1992  Chapungu Annual, Harare 
1993  South Korelia Art Museum

1994  Zimbabwe Heritage Annual

1994  Benson Park Sculpture Garden

1994  Palmengarten, Frankfurt

1995  Dortmund Botanical Garden 
1995  Galleri Knud Grothe, Denmark

1995  Chapungu Annual, Harare

1996  Chapungu Sculpture Park

1997  Fort Canning Park, Singapore

1998  Old State House, Hartford, CT

1999  Palmengarten, Frankfurt

2000  Royal Botanic Gardens, England

2001  Missouri Botanical Gardens, MO
2001  World Art Foundation, Holland

2001  Phillips Gallery, Carmel, CA

2001  Phillips Gallery, Kirkland, WA

2002 Zuva Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2003 Chicago Botanical Garden, IL

2003 Zuva Gallery, Scottsdale, AZ

2004 Denver Botanical Garden, CO

2005 Franklin Park Conservatory, OH

2005 Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2006 Chapungu, Loveland, CO

2006 Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2007 Denver Botanical Garden, CO

2007  Missouri Botanical Gardens, MO

2007 Phillips Gallery, Carmel, CA

2007 Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2008 Chapungu, Family Show, Loveland, CO

2009 Gallery i Fine Art, Monterey, CA

2009 Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2010 Gallery i Fine Art, Monterey, CA

2010 Embracing The Stone, Oxfordshire, UK

2011 Gallery Sur, Carmel CA

2011 Bonner David Galleries, Scottsdale, AZ

2011 Art Basel Miami Beach, Miami, FL, USA

2011 Art in Action, Oxford, UK

2012 Art in Action, Oxford, UK

2013 Farichild Tropical Gardens, Miami, FL

2014 National Gallery of Zimbabwe

2014 Sculpture in the Park, Loveland, CO

2012 - 2015Gallery Sur, Carmel, CA