'Listening Friend' springstone Shona sculpture signed by Chemedu Jemali
By Chemedu Jemali
Located in Milwaukee, WI
'Listening Friend' is an original springstone sculpture signed by the Zimbabwean artist Chemedu Jemali. The sculpture presents the head and torso of a figure, highly abstracted in Jemali's signature style: The figure's head leans to one side, eyes closed, as if carefully listening to the viewer. Like rippling sound waves, ridges cover half the figures face and body, each undulating and glistening with a polished surface. As the viewer walks around the sculpture, they can see that Jemali has left parts of the figure as natural stone, allowing the rough-hewn texture to create an exquisite contrast of surface with the mesmerizing polish. 46 x 13 x 10.5 inches Signed "Chemedu Jemali" along base, proper right Chemedu Jemali was born on March 3, 1971 in Harare, where he did his primary education. He and his family then moved to the Shamva township where he completed high school. His family is originally from Malawi and their totem is of the Miranzi (mouse). Chemedu's work focuses on stylized and abstracted figuration, ranging from spirit birds to stylized busts. Chemedu took an interest in carving in the early 1990s, inspired by the success of his older brother, Chituwa, and became an established carver. Initially, he worked as an apprentice to Chituwa who introduced him to carving the local hard stone such as verdite, springstone, cobalt and lemon opal. He has three brothers and one sister; his brother, Salim, is also a full time sculptor. He has become a well known artist not only in the Shona Art...
Early 2000s Contemporary Chemedu Jemali Art
Stone
