Theiler Art Gallery at Buscheliweg 7 in Brienz would like to present its collection of stone sculptures to a wider public on four open days. The 280 or so large and small sculptures and pictures on display all come from Zimbabwe. Stone carving has been practiced on a large scale in this country since the 1960s. Due to a mining boycott against the apartheid policy of the then President Ian Smith, talented wood carvers and other artists learned to artistically carve the rocks in the mine dumps. With great success, many of the works are now internationally known, popular and sought-after. They have been presented in many famous museums and at exhibitions on all continents. Sculpture in Zimbabwe under the term shona art has become a living tradition to this day, supported by many renowned and talented artists. In the Theiler Art Gallery - with a fine aperitif offered by the gallery - a large cross-section of these works can be studied and their astonishingly different expressions directly compared. The immeasurable variety of rock types in Zimbabwe is the basis for the artists' scope for development. Their works bear witness to profound creativity and a great diversity of styles.
