Biography

Square Chikwanda was born in 1972 in Guruve, Zimbabwe.  At seven years old, he moved with his family to the Tengenenge Sculpture Community, where he assisted his father, a professional sculptor himself, in sanding and polishing the sculptures. At the age of 13 Square followed in the footsteps of his father and quickly developed his own style. In 1995 he left Tengenenge to work at the Chapungu Sculpture Park in Harare where he could not only hone his artistic skills, but also manifest his stylistic vocabulary that is crucial to the expressiveness of works. Today, Square lives in Chitungwiza and works most of his time in Ruwa. In 2008 he accompanied an exhibition of Friends Forever to Chicago, in 2010 he directed several workshops in Germany and opened the Summer Exhibition at our gallery in Berlin.
Square’s works are strongly distinguished by their flawless completion originating from his consequently carried out craftsmanship. His ambition is to create harmoniously concipated and exemplarily manufactured unique pieces presenting themselves gently to their observer. Especially his distinctive design of mimic bordering on closeness show the shy sensitivity he attributes to his „living stones“. While the closed eyes of his figures seem to indicate a turning away from the outside world, their voluptuously pointed lips are arching towards the spectator – sometimes in a cheeky challenging, sometimes in a disgruntled sulky note. In combination with his convincing grasp of anatomy and physical proportions Square creates thought-absorbed characters of confidence that present themselves with a congenial sovereignty to the viewer.