Tendai Rukodzi was born in 1973 in Guruve, Zimbabwe. While he was still in school he started to assist his cousin, Edronce Rukodzi, who had established an international reputation as a stone sculptor. Edronce was Tendai’s first and most important mentor.

Once he left school in 1992 Tendai briefly worked as a school teacher and sculpted in his spare time. A year later he was invited to join the Tengenenge Art Colony near Guruve. He remained in this rural sculpting cooperative for two years before moving to Harare, where he joined Joe Mutasa’s studio.

Tendai received great exposure for his work at Joe’s studio and his sculptures were selected by a number of local and international galleries. Tendai, however, remained drawn to rural life, so in 1999 he returned to Tengenenge for five years. He returned to Harare in 2004, to gain more exposure for his work and he has remained there since then.

In 2005 Tendai was invited to The Netherlands to lead stone sculpting workshops. Since then he has returned to give workshops in Belgium, Germany and Austria. He very much enjoys mentoring aspiring artists both in Zimbabwe and overseas.

Tendai says that while he carves a number of subjects he frequently returns to the female form, because it’s a constant source of inspiration.

Tendai’s work has been shown in group exhibitions in Holland, the U.S. and UK, Canada, Switzerland, Portugal and France. Collectors from South Korea, Israel, Japan and Malaysia have purchased his sculptures.

Tendai has been represented in Canada since 2004.