Artists

Pioneering South African sculptor Michael Gagashe Zondi is well known for his carved wooden figural works that draw on biblical themes. Born and raised in KwaZulu-Natal, he trained in woodworking at the Swedish Lutheran mission trade school. In 1949, he went on to be a woodworking instructor at the same school. Zondi began sculpting at the age of 25 and in the late 1950s he enrolled in a fine arts course at the University of Natal in Pietermaritzburg. After receiving certificates in building construction and design, he worked on the hospital chapel at the Appelsbosch mission hospital and went on to serve at the Department of Information in 1967. Zondi held his first solo exhibition in 1965 at the Durban Art Gallery and a year later he and Sydney Kumalo were chosen as the first black South African sculptors to be represented at the Venice Biennale. Zondi became a full-time artist from 1972. In both 1992 and 2008 he suffered strokes that ultimately left him paralysed and unable to work. He passed away in 2008.

Image source: https://www.citizen.co.za/witness/archive/orbituary-for-sculptor-michael-gagashe-zondi-20150430/