​Contemporary South African Art

Mariga, Walter

Walter Mariga carves his distinctive sculptures using the hardest and most beautiful Zimbabwean stones. His work is exhibited internationally in the UK, US, Europe and Japan, as well as in Canada. Walter served his apprenticeship with his father, Joram Mariga, who is considered to be the 'father' of the current Shona sculpting movement. This connects Walter directly to the first generation of Shona sculptors and so his art is unique -displaying a mastery of both traditional and contemporary forms. 

The Mariga family is originally from Nyanga, a beautiful mountainous region near the border with Mozambique in eastern Zimbabwe. Walter currently lives and works from his home and studio in the capital, Harare, but frequently returns to Nyanga both for inspiration and to access the quality and variety of stone available there. 
Walter's mother Anna was also an accomplished sculptor in her own right. From this remarkable lineage he was born in 1973, second of five children (four boys and a girl). He greatly admired his parents. His home was his art school and his father proved to be an exceptional, if demanding, mentor, who from the outset encouraged all of his children to sculpt using the hardest stones. 

At the age of 12, Walter began to appreciate stone and to handle tools by 'shaping' raw stone to create forms that were less complete sculptures than explorations of form. He was quick to learn and his talent blossomed early. By the age of 17 Walter was carving full time. 

Women are and always have been a recurring theme in Walter's work. He uses images of women and intimacy to celebrate universal themes of love, nature, beauty and emotion. Nature, and birds in particular, are also celebrated in his sculptures as symbols of power, majesty and freedom. 

Walter's international debut came in 1994 through his association with the Chapungu Sculpture Gallery in Harare. He was chosen to participate in a workshop organized by the government of Japan. It provided him with a valuable opportunity to sculpt black granite alongside Japanese master sculptor Masaji Asaga. 

Like his father before him, Walter continues to include a passion for sharing his knowledge of sculpture as an important part of his art practice. Through the Gallerie de Porcherie in Tilburg, Holland he has conducted a number of workshops since 2005. Walter also led a number of workshops, for all ages and skill levels, during his residency with ZimArt in 2015. 

In 1999 Walter married his wife Fiencer and they immediately began a collaboration that resulted in the creation of what he calls the "real sculptures," their children Nigel, Walter Jr. and Adaeze. 
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