Agnes Nyanhongo (born 1960) is a Zimbabwean stone sculptor.
Early life and training A native of Nyanga, Nyanhongo is the daughter of first-generation sculptor Claud Nyanhongo and sister of Gedion Nyanhongo. She spent much time helping in her father's studio as a girl and began sculpting full-time in 1980. In 1983, she entered the B.A.T. Workshop school at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Harare, where she spent three years.
Career Stylistically, Nyanhongo's work is very similar to that of her father, and takes as its theme mainly female issues. Her sculptures are in the permanent collection of the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare, at the Museum of Outdoor Arts in Englewood, Colorado, and at the exhibition Zimbabwe Sculpture: a Tradition in Stone at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport."Zimbabwe Sculpture", Atlanta Airport Site
The catalogue "Chapungu: Culture and Legend – A Culture in Stone" for the exhibition at Kew Gardens in 2000 depicts Nyanhongo's major works Divided Family (Springstone, 1992) on p. 32-33, Keeping the History (Springstone, 1999) on p. 108-109, Grandmother Fetches Water (Springstone, 1998) on p. 80-81 and her celebration of the Zimbabwean national heroine Mbuya Nehanda, Mbuya Nehanda - Spirit Medium (Opal stone, 1995) on p. 78-79.Catalogue published by Chapungu Sculpture Park, 2000, 136pp printed in full colour, with photographs by Jerry Hardman-Jones and text by Roy Guthrie (no ISBN) Nyanhongo was resident artist at Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare (1996–2003) and her work is widely collected: Oprah Winfrey and Maya Angelou are among its known owners.
Selected exhibitions 1985 Africa Central - London 1985 Zimbabwe Heritage Annual, Harare 1990 Contemporary Stone Carving from Zimbabwe, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, UKContemporary Stone Carving from Zimbabwe, 1990, 1991 Mabwe Gallery, Harare 1992 Universal Exposition, Seville 1994 Palmengarten, Frankfurt 1995 Galleri Knud Grothe, Denmark 1996 Galerie Im Schlobgarten, Germany 1996 Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare 1997 Fort Canning Park, Singapore 1998 Old State House, Hartford, CT 2000 Chapungu: Custom and Legend – A Culture in Stone, Kew Gardens, UK 2001 Missouri Botanical Gardens, MO 2003 Chicago Botanical Gardens, IL 2003 In Praise of Women (tour) Oxford, London, Copenhagen, Uppsala 2005 In Praise of Women III (tour) London, Toronto 2014 National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare
See also Sculpture of Zimbabwe
References
Further reading Mawdsley, Joceline (1995) "Agnes Nyanhongo na Colleen Madamombe: Maonyesho ya Sanamu ya Kusanya Ushirika wa Miaka Kumi na Mbili na Hifadhi ya Sanamu ya Chapungu" Chapungu Sculpture Park, Harare Winter-Irving, C. (2004) Vipande vya Wakati: Anthology ya nakala juu ya sanamu ya mawe ya Zimbabwe iliyochapishwa katika The Herald na Zimbabwe Mirror 1999-2000. Mambo Press, Zimbabwe,