Lovemore Bonjisi
Respected shona art critic Celia Winter-Irving described Lovemore as “The shona Michelangelo” writing in the herald, Zimbabwe’s main daily newspaper.
Lovemore Bonjisi was born on January 8th, 1985 in Ruwa, Zimbabwe. He is one of 7 children and was the brother of the internationally renowned Zimbabwean sculptor, Lameck Bonjisi, now deceased. Whilst at school with Lameck in Ruwa, their father introduced them to master Shona Sculptor, Nicholas Mukomberanwa.
Under his guidance, Lovemore learnt the art of traditional Shona Sculpture over a period of 5 years, at the end of which he decided not to go to secondary school, but to become a professional sculptor at the age of 14. Lovemore followed his older brother, Lameck, to Zimbabwe’s capital, Harare and began his trade there, where he has since become an artist of considerable renown.
Lovemore favors the use of Springstone for his works, one of the hardest stones in Zimbabwe which polishes up into a wonderful black lustre. He also uses a lot of Cobalt, which renders an array of beautiful colors when polished.
Exhibition and Achievements:
Alexander gallery (Spain);
Contemporary Fine art gallery (Eton, UK)
Passion in stone exhibition (Sydney, Australia)
The Hans Uber Collection (Germany)
Utonga Gallery (South Carolina, US).
Voted Most promising sculptor by Alexander Gallery (Spain) in 2004.
Kingsley Garden Galleries (Cape Cod, MA, USA)
His most recent exhibition was the Open Exhibition at the National Gallery (Harare, Zimbabwe)
