Background

Born in Cambridge, sculptor/painter Vusumuzi Maduna spent much of his life as an artist resident of the Gallery at the Piano Factory in Boston. Maduna began his exploration of African culture with a study of African religions which led him to further examine and interpret the traditional embodiment of belief and myth. Art, for Maduna, was an act of spiritual nourishment. "People gather strength through their roots," he said, "and it is through art that we hear our ancestral voices."

Maduna recognized the contribution of African art on the development of modern art in Europe and North America. He studied and admired its abstract visual language, its bold geometric forms, and its imaginative treatment of the human body. He found inspiration in the art and culture of the Dogon people, who live in modern-day Mali, especially known for their figurative sculptures and ceremonial masks. “My art is one way I can maintain a connection with my roots,” Maduna once explained. But, speaking of traditional African artists, he noted, “theirs was not my life experience. The belief systems that motivated those forms were not mine.” Therefore, Maduna viewed his work as a synthesis of African and Western forms.

Educated at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and a member of the African American Master Artists in Residency Program of Northeastern University. His work has been exhibited in the MFA and the ICA, as well as in Tokyo and the People’s Republic of China. Yet Maduna returned to the neighborhoods of his childhood to create pieces that remind us of the African heritage that many in the community share. His public installations are located in Cambridge (the Margaret Fuller House, the Cambridge Community Center, The King School) and in the Boston area, including The Judge, in Roxbury.

Known fondly by those who loved him as Vuzi, he died on Sunday Jan, 28, 2007 after enduring a long illness. We are left with his art rooted deep in the communities he loved.