Colleen Madamombe (Zimbabwe, 1964-2009). Woman with Basket. Stone sculpture, n.d. Signed on lower left side of verso. An endearing stone sculpture by celebrated second-generation Shona artist Colleen Madamombe presenting a character common to her work: a round-faced female dressed in a billowing, layered dress while holding a basket. Madamombe's work explores themes of womanhood, girlhood, pregnancy, motherhood, and the authority of the tribal matriarch. Interested in not only the emotional and spiritual side of woman's life but also the basic physical appearance and movement particular to females, Madamombe often depicts women at work, harvesting, carrying water or children, and giving birth. She portrays these aspects of womanhood with poetic clarity, revealing emotions such as pride, authority, energy, endeavor, sadness, tenderness, and humor. As is typical of her work, this sculpture is also a play in surface and texture: her smooth, polished face and hands are juxtaposed with the rough-hewn surfaces of her clothing and hair. Size: 9.5" W x 13" H (24.1 cm x 33 cm)

Madamombe's female figures quickly became a symbol of womanhood in Zimbabwe and were adopted by the Zimbabwean International Film Festival as the trophy award for all winning women entrants. She also won the award "Best Female Artist of Zimbabwe" three times. As is evident in her subject matter, Madamombe had strong feelings concerning the changing role of women in Zimbabwean society. Though opportunities for women were and are still developing, she felt they were losing their positions of traditional respect and that it remained difficult for women to pursue a career in the arts, predominantly because of an inherent lack of self-confidence as well as the idea of following one's own ambitions and pursuing a career remains foreign to many Zimbabwean women. Madamombe explained: "A lot of women are artists and just don't realize it - making pots and other things for the home, and not for sale."

Provenance: private Burbank, California, USA collection

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#179189

A few minor nicks to face and hands, but otherwise intact and excellent with nice preservation of surface texture and form. Signed "Colleen" on lower left side of verso.