Lovemore Kambudzi: Ever shining artist

Zimbabwe in the 1990s, has emerged as one of the most successful painters since independence in 1980.
The reserved soft-spoken artist who rarely appears at public gatherings has never been hesitant to speak his mind through his work even on issues that are sometimes considered to be extremely sensitive by forces of mighty.
He has even used his concealed weapons presented to him by nature the day he was conceived to convey in the simplest manner possible the reality and spirit of Zimbabwe.
Lovemore’s successful satirical way of painting on massive canvases, intricacies of each and every subject with the usage of unforgiving timid brush strokes and the controlled use of colour strongly makes his work an instant hit in parts of the world it has been exposed to.
It has been used on book jackets both nationally and internationally, published in magazines around the world from New Zealand to the Czech Republic, from South Africa to Germany.
Since his maiden painting award in the country’s yesteryear’s prestigious art exhibitions of the Zimbabwe Heritage in the 1990s, the trend continued at various art platforms with awards before capturing the Commonwealth Foundation Art Award in 2003.
A handful of other prestigious awards including a couple sponsored by the European Union mission in Zimbabwe followed suit.
In a recent one-on-one interview at his house, with his second son of few months on his lap and him sitting next to his wife, I asked about his recent enormous work. “What motivates you, how and where do you start on such a huge extremely detailed piece?”
Mrs Kambudzi was haste to reveal the experience.
“When it gets serious you would feel for him. He embarks with many sketches but they are always changing.
“They quickly disappear as he starts to apply paint, he does not stop even to eat, he will consume very little food sometimes with his hands soaked with oil paints or turps (turpentine).
“Even clothes he would not change: it will take months of intense concentration and being oblivious of other things,” she said.
The man in question then explained: “My paintings, in different ways, reflect the concerns of human rights and social justice. This is interpreted broadly in some of the works that have positive and joyful images.
“But then there are the depressing ones, some of which appear political but I really have been painting what I have been through and what I see in Zimbabwe everyday. All my adult life I have been observing the life of the people in my home area of Mbare and the country as a whole.
“People are struggling and severely suffering. All the problems have made the situation almost unbearable for ordinary people, forcing them to turn to corrupt activities and crime. My paintings are through the eye of the people: I cannot hide the truth.”
What’s your take on the current art situation in Zimbabwe? I posed the question. He shook his head and said: “I’m deeply saddened by the massive looting of the country’s best artworks by some unscrupulous buyers who are taking unfair advantage of the artists’ desperate economic situation, dictating grocery prices for their artworks.
“No one seems to be doing much about it. There haven’t been significant purchases by the National Gallery of Zimbabwe for the permanent collection in recent years and the best work of this era is not being preserved or well documented.
“The work is disappearing, enriching the looters who are shipping it overseas, reselling it for more than a thousand percent profit.
“Some are illegally reproducing the work depriving artists of potential revenue. The issues are endless and it’s disheartening.”
Kambudzi has been buying or swapping some important artworks with various artists.
But to end the unfair practices the country needs assistance from the Government, which currently does not have a functional cultural policy document.
It has also never prioritised a budget for the sector as revealed by former bureaucrats who are cultural practitioners and once made commendable efforts to develop the sector.
It’s Kambudzi’s wish to see the country’s artists’ welfare improving and making contributions to the development of sector.
At Kambudzi’s home studio I noticed some larger than life size wooden sculptures.
He said he has been inspired by the work he has been creating over the years and the drive to express himself through three-dimensional media has been compelling.
Undisputedly the three-dimensional work has inherited much from his two dimensional art.
Very soon the artistic audiences will be exposed to a new treat from the established humble man.
Recently Kambudzi’s piece titled “Last Warning” from Czech’s Marie Imbrova’s collection was pledged to Art for Africa^TM Auction, a unique auction that presented the work of cutting-edge African artists alongside some of the major names in American Contemporary art at Sotheby’s New York on November 17, 2011.
This second “Art for Africa^TM Auction followed the successful inaugural one held in London in September 2009.
The proceeds from the New York sale will benefit Africa Foundation’s work in support of orphaned and vulnerable children living in some of the poorest rural communities in Southern and Eastern Africa.