VendaArt – Handcrafted wood furniture and Art from Africa
The first African tribal art carving we did was in 2015, which is why we think that’s when Venda Art’s one-of-a-kind furniture store came into being, at least on an aspirational level. The truth is that work was not at the level of complexity that is found today, but it was based on what fundamentally defines us:
- passion for wood carving;
- respect for the art of African artists;
- and an obsession with the perfection that can be achieved by combining them.
Whether we speak about furniture pieces carved from a single piece of solid wood (made on the mainland side), composite/combined pieces (on the island side in Zanzibar) or purely decorative objects, the Venda Art concept brings together the unique type of art.
And it is made entirely by hand, in the traditional African carving style of the Makonde, Maasai, Animals, Devils, etc. and Zanzibar style, using traditional tools, which are used to process the most precious materials in the world (including ebony).
VendaArt Team
Our team is made up of European design artists, starting with George – the artist and mastermind behind Venda Art – and African artisan craftsmen (Betwam Dihera, Useni Wilisoni, Zakalia Mchambuka, Casimilu Danieli, Michael Mtungwa Shija, Omary Hamidu Karina, Isiaka Deje, Jonathan Nkwabi).
The latter are part of a generation that is alarmingly fast losing masters who know the craft of African tribal carving with classical tools. Already, we have lost Fharasisi Amblosi and Rafheli Makalunde, whom we greatly regret, but their memory lives on in the pieces of art they left behind.
That is why we are honoured to have among the Venda Art team the most talented of African artists, he last of their calibre, unrivalled in the world for the finesse of detail achieved and the depth to which they manage to penetrate the wood without machinery.
Which is why our European-African team manages to combine modern, British – and especially traditional African tribal art – design to perfection.
The Venda Art challenge, the creator of artisanal furniture from Africa
Our ongoing challenge touches on several aspects.
On one hand, we strive to find the best solutions to provide the highest standard of quality and durability, while maintaining the traditional wood carving in the most atypical savannah conditions.
On the other hand, we want the specific tribal styles to be found in timelessly designed, complex and functional pieces of wooden furniture made in Africa. Because we want to offer more than beautiful art objects, but useful creations that become long-term investments.
Through hard work, skill, creativity and talent, we tell cultural and historical stories giving concrete form to exotic and refined tastes. We invest them with meaning and make them accessible worldwide, in the luxury furniture store VendaArt.
To whom? To anyone who appreciates and feels, not just knows, the intrinsic value of the art objects we create.