Moses Nyanhongo
(b. 1981, Nyanga, Africa)
“The
rural forest landscape from my early years has a strong influence on my
work, my vision.”
Moses took up sculpture after watching his father (prominent first
generation sculptor Claud Nyanhongo) turn boulders into beautiful works
of art at their rural home in the Eastern Highlands of Zimbabwe. Moses
first worked as an assistant to his father, gaining experience and
confidence along the way. Soon sculpting became his passion, consuming
all his free time and school holidays, as he honed his skills.
Born in 1981, Moses spent most of his early years living and working in
Nyanga with his father. In 1999, he left his rural home and moved to
Harare to join his artist siblings - internationally acclaimed sculptors
Agnes, Gedion, Wellington and Euwitt. “That is the time I began to work
seriously. I had the opportunity to see them work every day and the
inspiration grew big from there.”
His inspiration is drawn primarily from both his early rural
upbringing. “The rural forest landscape from my early years has a
strong influence on my work, my vision.” He is also moved by the human
figure, and the day-to-day interactions and communications of the people
around him.
“What’s most interesting with my work is its quality to be easily
understood by viewers. In my finishing details, I want to have contrast
and texture as my trademark style. The combination of dark and light
colors, polished and unpolished parts of my sculpture. These are things
I feel convey a powerful, differentiating style in my work.”
While greatly admiring the work of his siblings Gedion & Agnes
Nyanhongo, Moses feels that an artist must find their own path from an
early age. “You have to set your own creative standards and define your
own approach early to survive in art.”
Moses has exhibited his work in the United States, Germany, Holland,
South Africa and the United Kingdom. He continues to live and work in
Harare, still filling all his free time pursuing his passion for
sculpting.
Jones & Terwilliger Galleries proudly represent Moses Nyanhongo is
southern California.
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