Edward Chiwawa was born in Guruve, northern Zimbabwe, in about 1916. He began sculpting in 1970; he was inspired and encouraged by his cousin Henry Munyaradzi, who was already an established artist at the nearby Tengenenge sculpture community. Henry is now the most famous and sought-after artist of the Shona sculpture movement.
In the late 1970s, the war of independence forced the temporary closure of Tengenenge. Edward joined the National Gallery in Salisbury (now Harare) and sculpted there as a member for over 20 years. Later, he lived and worked in Chitungwiza and then in Waterfalls, Harare.
Numerous international exhibitions and awards, including:
- Group sculpture exhibition, Kalmthout Arboretum, Belgium (2005)
- Commonwealth Games, New Zealand (1990)
- First prize, ‘7th International Small Sculpture Exhibition’, Budapest, Hungary (1986)
His work is part of the collection of the Afrika Museum, Berg en Dal, The Netherlands.
He is also featured in a number of authoritative books including ‘Shona Sculpture in Zimbabwe’ by Celia Winter-Irving and ‘Shona Sculpture’ by Ferdinand Mor.
Edward passed away in October 2022 and is greatly missed.
There are more super sculptures by Edward Chiwawa available through our other company, Guruve, a web gallery based in the UK.
Click on the link to see Guruve’s Edward Chiwawa pieces.
This text is copyright (please see statement on our homepage) and is the intellectual property of Shona Sculpture Gallery and must not be reproduced without our permission and attribution to www.shonasculpture.gallery.
