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This sculpture has a sinuous vertical form. The rough area of stone on one side is juxtaposed to…
Location:
5531 S. Martin Luther King Dr.
Chicago, IL 60637
Located Within:
Washington (George) Park
Artist:
Luxon Karise
Year Created:
ca. 1995
Installed:
2013
Features:
Outdoor, Sculpture
Description
In 2012, the DuSable Museum installed two newly acquired Shona sculptures in the plaza area near the building’s front entrance. Entitled Elegant Beauty and Unconditional Love, these artworks were donated by Sheila Handwerker.
Luxon Karise (b. 1968) created Elegant Beauty. Born in Guruve, Zimbabwe, Karise has never travelled outside of his homeland. He has been a full time artist since 1988. Karise cites his cousin, Benard Matemera, one of the influential of Zimbabwe’s Shona sculptors, as an important source of inspiration to his own work. According to the Art Creations Africa website, Karise’s earlier exposure to crafts in school “contributed much to his courage and determination to work and live in the visual independent world of creation, beyond the reach of Nyikadzimu (world of spirits). Elegant Beauty is carved from Serpentine stone. The abstract sculpture has a gently curving verticle form with a face subtly exposed in the the stone.
Location: Adjacent to entryway of DuSable Museum of African American History