For this 59th Biennale of Contemporary Art in Venice, which runs from April 23 to November 27, the artists bring different points of view and at the same time offer a formidable global panorama of creation.
On the Zimbabwean pavilion, it will be distinguished the work of Kresiah Mukwazhi who is inspired by the global movement #Metoo and addresses the issue of rape in South Africa, while Wallen Mapondera is interested in social ties through amazing installations produced with the help of textiles, and makes remarks on power structures.
Each of the artists brings their views for this 59th venice Biennale, as refined as our experiences, as fundamental as another country and as courageous in telling their own stories.
Ronald Muchatuta
For Ronald Muchatuta, art is a method of correspondence and association: an intimately friendly and political discourse that is locked between the creator and the observer. Art provides a meaningful framework for our individual and collective lives.
His work is charged and frightening – like the overall mental collapse of a group interpreted on a material. These prescient themes are derived from Ronald Muchatuta‘s unique situation: a Zimbabwean, his work revolves around the contemporary issues facing individuals in Southern Africa – relocation, political issues, identity, colonialism and segregation.
All in all, his work is unequivocally influenced by the demonstration of dislocation and the connection between exiles and migrants and their countries. Ronald Muchatuta works in a variety of media including drawing, painting, collage and mosaic. He prepares his works by working from live models, which gives them the sentimentality usually attributed to Renaissance painters, but his subjects are derived from his encounters and the stories of his family and nation.
Ronald Muchatuta‘s artworks are elegant and are part of various private, public and corporate collections, including The Spier assortment, Hollard, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, Nandos – compelling artwork collection, US Senate workplaces and others based in Africa and abroad.
He has participated in various exhibitions in Africa and internationally, including the Stellenbosch Triennial, and is often invited to speak on issues related to art and Africa.
Kresiah Mukwazhi
Kresiah Mukwazhi was born in Zimbabwe. Trained at both the National Gallery of Zimbabwe School of Visual Art and the Market Photo Workshop in South Africa, her practice is inspired by encounters and perceptions of brutality, exploitation and abuse in relation to gender.
Spurred by the global #metoo movement, Kresiah Mukwazhi uses her art to provide insight into the under-reported events of rape in her home country and the rest of Southern Africa.
Kresiah Mukwazhi uses the cooperative capacity of the material to reference feelings of externalization, capture and freedom, sometimes in images of opposition and struggle. She has exhibited at the SMAC Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the Tsoko Gallery and the Zeitz MOCAA.
Terrence Musekiwa
Terrence Musekiwa, born in 1990 in Chitungwiza, approaches art from an exceptionally advantageous base. Naturally introduced to a group of experienced stone carvers, he began carving at the age of five while watching his father. At the age of 24, Terrence Musekiwa can now claim approximately nineteen years of experience, confirming his unparalleled certainty and expertise.
Unlike many stone artists of previous eras, Terrence Musekiwa destroys the theoretical boundary between conventional carving and contemporary work. His work begins with traditional stonecutting techniques, but is brought to the forefront of contemporary Zimbabwe through his ironic and hard-hitting analysis, focusing on religion, history, custom, and everyday conflicts.
Various discussions and battles are inscribed within the stone. His use of chains, glass, wood, fabric, plastic and resin is meant to defy custom, for what it is worth, to defy previously established tasteful and philosophical inclinations.
Terrence Musekiwa has exhibited at the National Gallery Zimbabwe, Catinca Tabacaru Gallery, Istanbul International Art Fair, Berliner Liste in Germany, Jo’burg Fringe Art Fair in South Africa and many others. Terrence Musekiwa is a recipient of the 2011 Peace of Art Award and was selected for the Catinga Tabacaru residency program.
Wallen Mapondera
Wallen Mapondera was born in 1985 in Harare, Zimbabwe and currently lives and works in Cape Town, South Africa.
Wallen Mapondera completed his art preparation at the National Gallery School of Visual Arts and Design in Zimbabwe, and received his MFA certification at Rhodes University in Makhanda, South Africa in 2019.
In 2015, Wallen Mapondera was the recipient of the Zimbabwe National Award of Artistic Merit – in the category of two-dimensional visual artworks – awarded by the Zimbabwe National Arts Council. In 2007, Wallen Mapondera was selected to participate in the National Gallery of Zimbabwe’s Artist-in-Residence program, and was an occupant at the Vermont Studio Center, Burlington, Vermont, USA in 2012, and at Pro Helvetia Studio in Zurich, Switzerland in 2018.
Wallen Mapondera has exhibited at SMAC Gallery in Cape Town, South Africa, Atelier Mondial in Switzerland, Emergency Exit at Tyburn Gallery in London, UK.
