Celia Winter-Irving (respected Shona art critic and ex-curator of the National Gallery in Harare) described artist Lovemore Bonjisi as ‘The Shona Michelangelo’.

Lovemore Bonjisi was born in January 1985 in Ruwa, a small town just east of Zimbabwe’s capital Harare. He is the youngest in a large family, many of whom are stone sculptors.

Lovemore was taught to sculpt by his brother Lameck Bonjisi (now deceased), who was a well-known sculptor.

Lovemore cites as his inspiration the late, great Zimbabwean sculptor Nicholas Mukomberanwa, who was Lameck’s teacher and mentor. Nicholas’ sculptures have stylised faces and cubist forms, and one can see this influence filtering down through the generations.

Lovemore’s work is elegant and fluid, combining graceful stylised forms with faces full of beauty.

Many galleries worldwide have exhibited Lovemore’s work, including:

• Contemporary Fine Art Gallery (Eton, UK)
• Passion in Stone Exhibition (Sydney, Australia)
• Alexander Gallery (Spain), who voted him Most Promising Sculptor in 2004.