Stanford was born July 7, 1984 in Harare. Stanford is third in a family of three boys and three girls. Stanford attended school until the the 7th grade in Chitungwiza and then left school for financial reasons.
‘I began my sculpting at the age of 14–I was the first one to do so in my family, although I had no other job.’
Stanford’s situation turned out to be a very serendipitous one; his natural ability and wonderful talent has taken him to new heights in the Shona Sculpture community. Stanford is a very respected artist and is known world wide for his beautiful abstract sculptures, nearly always sculpted of Opalstone. He has exhibited his work in the USA, Germany, England, the Netherlands, and in South Africa.
‘I was mainly inspired by Joe Mutasa and Lazarus Takawira and my sculptures are mainly Opal as this type of stone has better shapes and sizes which suit my style.’ Stanford’s forte is in creating abstract sculptures, usually quite large because, as Stanford, describes, ‘They (abstract forms) can take note of all my ideas and can give the right impression or movement that I may want to express.’ Stanford says he usually sees the piece in his mind before he begins sculpting, but there are those times when it develops as he sculpts. When asked if he had a favorite time to sculpt his reply was, ‘I don’t have a favorite time–it’s when I have the feeling–that’s my time to sculpt.’ Stanford can usually complete a very large abstract ‘at a normal pace’ in one week.
Stanford is married with one child, a boy and as Stanford proudly says, ‘My son is a very talented soccer player.’ When asked what Stanford would like others to know about Zimbabwe and his art, he said, ‘I would like the world to appreciate my work, Zimbabwe’s beautiful attractions and its diversified culture.’
For an interview with Stanford see: