dyton mupawaenda
Arts Reporter
Local visual artists, Virginia Chihota and Anthony Bumhira, are showcasing their collections in the US, enhancing their profiles on the international stage.
The exhibition, titled “Hurukuro,” is taking place at No. 52 Walker Street in New York and features a diverse range of their artistic works.
Curated by Augusto Arbizo and presented by James Cohan, “Hurukuro” offers a unique glimpse into the creative expressions of these talented artists.
The event aims to celebrate their contributions to the art world and foster a deeper appreciation for their cultural narratives.
The duo’s exhibition will run until April 5, with their works set to be auctioned to international buyers who are in love with Zimbabwean art collections.
In a statement by Cohan, the exhibition is a milestone for the Zimbabwean duo, whose international appeal is hard to ignore.
“James Cohan is pleased to present “Hurukuro,” a two-person exhibition curated by Augusto Arbizo, featuring the work of Anthony Bumhira and Virginia Chihota, on view from now until April 5, 2025, at the gallery’s location at 52 Walker Street. This marks the first gallery exhibition in New York for both artists,” reads part of the curatorial statement.
The exhibition explores the wide range of Bumhira and Chihota’s art collections, which have won the hearts of international collectors.
The curatorial statement provides insight into the themes being tackled by the Zimbabwean duo and their relevance.
“‘Hurukuro” (the Shona word for ‘conversation’) brings together the work of Anthony Bumhira and Virginia Chihota to establish a personal and quietly potent dialogue. Bumhira and Chihota reflect on themes of intimacy, domesticity, and the body, using the language of the everyday to pose broader existential questions. Both artists draw from their biographies, using their upbringing, family, religion, and community as foundational lenses to explore the intersections of personal and collective histories.
“Hurukuro” showcases large-scale, wall-based works that incorporate a variety of materials, including fabric, thread, blankets, and paper doilies in Bumhira’s work, and printing inks, acrylic paint, and canvas in Chihota’s paintings.
“During the artists’ time at the National Gallery School at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, the curriculum emphasised commercial art techniques and ideas, such as multiples of genre pictures of street life and market scenes. These technical and formal ideas — which include printmaking processes and the serial use of forms — would become instrumental in the early development of both artists,” the statement added.
Bumhira and Chihota’s practices incorporate these core precepts as a point of departure to materially and compositionally innovative ends.
As some of the country’s cultural ambassadors, Bumhira and Chihota are household names on the local scene.
The pair has been in the trenches for years, exploring major themes through their art collections.
As role models, the duo has also been training youngsters back home as a way of giving back to society.
The only challenge they face is that most people do not buy local art.
This is one area where arts regulatory chiefs and practitioners need to work on to raise the appeal of Zimbabwean art.
Online Reporter