Anton Smit always knew he wanted to be a sculptor. He was born in Boksburg, South Africa, in 1954, and with no prior training entered his first sculpting competition at age 16. The teenager impressed the panel of judges and won the competition. Smit’s vision led him to monumental works in bronze, which embody themes of suffering and reconciliation. In an ode to his country, 30 of Smit’s large-scale works currently grace Cape Town’s precinct of Century City. Stone faces evoke African totems, and three powerful women stand on their tiptoes, against a backdrop of Table Mountain. —E.C.