Gladman Zinyeka
Gladman Zinyeka, born in 1962 in the Guta district in Zimbabwe. During the War of Independence, Gladman experienced a troubled childhood where he was being forced to be separated from his parents. In 1983 he settled in Harare and is now happily married.
Gladman began sculpting in 1985 and is already one of the most successful and versatile of the Second Generation Sculptors. He utilises the variety of serpentines and in particular the very hard springstone that he polishes to perfection. He often contrasts roughly hewn stone with highly polished surfaces to create a distinctive multi-faceted style.
Gladman first decided he wanted to be a stone sculptor after seeing Samson Kuvhenguhwa磗 work. He was at that stage just carving animals, then in 1986, a friend took him to Kuvhengurwa磗 Studio and Gladman was amazed at the depth which stone could reach when it was released in the imagination. Kuvhengurwa said to Gladman, 创If ever a piece did not look like it should, then he would smash it创. Hence, Gladman has always felt any work that is not strikingly original, to be a ruin.
His inspiration has been a successful force in Gladman磗 life. It is what he knows best. He sees it all around him - a detail in the face of the people that talk with him whilst he drinks, the loiterers that share his roasted meat and watch while he works. These are his friends who have nowhere to go, so they turn to him. 创I stand for the poor创, Gladman says. 创I am lucky because I can shout through stone sculpture. Sometimes I wake early in the morning and the stones are screaming, you know, it磗 like they are calling me to come and help them out. So I take the charcoal and inscribe a few lines - and start to work创. It is an echo embodied in every piece of stone that he touches. A sentiment that runs through his work. He says that stone is heavy and it is fragile. This makes it captivating because the material places demands and limitations on the artist.
Gladman is a sculptor who prefers to work in his home surroundings. He is independent, highly original in his creations and has never fallen prey to the lure of commercialism. Gladman is not a martyr, but a modest down to earth true artist, husband, father and son. Since 1988 Gladman has been participating in exhibitions both locally and internationally. Gladman passed away in February 2000.
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