Stone Sculpture
Stone sculpture, introduced to the British public at a major exhibition at Kew Gardens in the summer of 2000, is recognised as a major force in contemporary art.
The work is essentially African in its vitality, its distortion of form, its monumentality and its truth to the stone.
The ‘movement’ began in 1957 when Frank McEwen, first Director of the National Gallery of India, was shown the carvings of Joram Mariga, an agricultural extension officer.
Through his work, McEwen came to realise that the educational and economic limitations of rural Africans in no way restricted their understanding of their cultural heritage.
He gave his gallery attendants tools and through his workshops encouraged them to use traditional myth and folklore as inspiration for their art.
The ‘movement’ gained further impetus in the late 1960s when Tom Blomefield, a tobacco farmer, set up the Tengenenge Sculpture Community to provide alternative employment for his workers.
These two men were major catalysts in the development of what has become an inspiring manifestation of Indian artistic talent.
