people: blue girl

This unsigned painting came from a thrift store.   Since I know nothing, I’ll guess this is student art, and really good.

The colors are bounded by black lines.  It’s like a drawing filled in.  Is there a cartoon connection?

But it’s not flat.  The blue face reaches out to me.  The arresting eyes stare beyond, not bored, not excited.  These eyes are resting on something, but the mind is not resting.

Those are real eyelids and real brows.  The anatomy is right.  Except the ear.  I don’t believe the inside of the ear came from a sitting model.  Maybe the artist was working from a photograph.

I think the artist would not compose the head out of the frame, except if working from a photograph.

The colors are complex and complementary.  Cool on the inside and warm all around.  The subject is primary:  blue, yellow, red, and the extremities are secondary:  orange, green, purple.

What is that fluffy blanket at the bottom?  A nearby item out of focus?  A misty cloud of smoke?  It has no black line keeping it from flowing and rolling up and around.  It is a comfort or a danger?

This is a painting I can look at for a long time.

people: green man

Title:  unknown

Artist:  Bevin Chikodzi, 1966-2006, Zimbabwe

Style:  Shona sculpture

Medium:  green serpentine (?) stone

Measurements:

height: 27 cm

width: 9 cm

depth: 4 cm

Condition:  a few scratches

Signed:  By B Chikodzi

This abstracted figure was released from the stone by Zimbabwean sculptor Bevin Chikodzi.  Carvers in the Shona tribe contemplate the piece of rock in order to expose the spirit it contains. The figure revealed here has a large right hand, and a serene face reminiscent of traditional African masks.  I don’t know the title.

Bevin Chikodzi was born in Mrewa, Zimbabwe in 1966, and was an artist in Chitungwiza.  According to Efka, “The development of his talent is related to his uncle Wellington Mudhokwani, a local sculptor in Seke. Under his wings Bevin at the age of 16 dedicated almost his entire time to sculpturing. He sculptured for hours with passion often neglecting his school and later work. Next to his uncle also ‘Mr. Mdokwani’, probably sculptor Farai Mdokwani, taught him to carve in 1987.” (1.)  He set out on his own the next year.  Bevin worked as a full-time sculptor. (2.)

Bevin said, “When I sculpt I have to do it with spirit in my work. You can not just sculpt. According to some method or some book. You must place your whole emphasis on the spiritual content.” (1.)   He believed that, “nothing which exists naturally is inanimate” –it has a spirit of its own.  You must be aware of the stone’s contribution to the finished artwork.  (2.)

Bevin was a gentle man of good humor, respected in his community.  His art has been exhibited in Africa, UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, USA, Australia, Spain, Singapore, Japan and Belgium. Bevin represented Zimbabwe at the Expo 2000 Germany and the Expo 2004 in Japan. (1.)  His country’s name, Zimbabwe, means, “house of stone.”

Shona sculpture is, “perhaps the most important new art form to emerge from Africa in the 20^th century,” according to Newsweek. (3.)  Picasso admired Shona sculpture, but modern cubism was not an influence on the African artists. (3.)  They began with traditional subjects, and worked with the stone’s spirit to discover the image within.

In this stone, Bevin found a human with right arm bending.  If you tried to pose this way, your palm might be out.

1.  “Bevin Chikodzi African Abstract Bird Stone Sculpture Zimbabwe 2nd Half of the 20th C,” c.2016-2019.  Efka in the Netherlands, of BrandNewVintageStore on Etsy.  https://www.etsy.com/listing/611234687/bevin-chikodzi-african-abstract-bird
2. “A Mothers Love,” by Unknown in Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa, Stone Sculpture blog, April 9, 2013, http://artcreationsafrica.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-mothers-love.html
3. “SHONA MODERN | The Peggy Knowlton Collection of 20th Century Zimbabwean Art,” Press Release by Material Culture, May 23, 2017, https://materialculture.com/about_shona_modern/