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Trust Khosa
The increase in local visual artists showcasing their collections in overseas galleries is quite refreshing and encouraging.
A month hardly passes without local artists’ collections being auctioned internationally.
For some, this is the first time to hog the limelight internationally.
It’s quite sad that their art collections appeal more to international buyers than locals.
This is an area where visual arts chiefs, led by National Art Gallery of Zimbabwe curator and executive director Raphael Chikukwa, need to address.
Visual arts encompass all art forms such as painting, drawing, print-making, sculpture, ceramics, photography, video, filmmaking, design, crafts and architecture.
Moffat Takadiwa, Gillian Rosselli, Sekai Machache, Troy Makaza, Victor Nyakauru and Kombo Chapfika are some of the creatives who have made an impression in this sector.
The list includes art teacher and painter Raphael Jamu, who has vastly toured Europe and Africa.
However, it should be mentioned that Takadiwa of Mbare Art Space is one of the biggest names in this genre enjoying rave reviews overseas.
Currently, on an international tour, Takadiwa has made an impact in Romania, France, Austria and China, where his collections are in demand.
Takadiwa, whose journey started in Mbare, has been hailed for his ability to use recycled materials to come up with impressive art collections.
Last month, he was in Romania where he touched the hearts of many with his exhibition held at the Nicodin Gallery in Bucharest.
He proceeded to the Museum of Modern Art, Vienna Mumok, for another exhibition dubbed “Avant-Garde and Liberation”, which explored contemporary art and decolonial modernism.
It also raised the significance of global modernism for contemporary art.
Despite his success, Takadiwa has remained humble as he concentrates on his work.
“I am humbled with the experience in Beijing,” said Takadiwa in his recent appreciation post in Beijing, China.
Fellow creative, Fatima Katiji, who is also part of Jah Prayzah’s music outfit, also praised Takadiwa for his creativity last month when he exhibited in Austria.
” . . . I experienced the most beautiful moment in the life of art. I was super excited to meet my brother Moffat Takadiwa, who has his pieces in the exhibition, such amazing artwork from my land.
“We also had a great time catching up. In the last picture here, they took his work and put it on the stairs. Isn’t that wonderful?” said Katiji.
So popular is Takadiwa’s art collections that it has garnered attention from high-profile buyers, including the global power couple Jay-Z and Beyonce.
Last year, he revealed that the celebrity couple had purchased several of his pieces.
Takadiwa shared his joy on social media after winning the hearts of the power couple.
“For six or seven years now, I have been working with an American gallery based in Los Angeles and New York, so there are a lot of celebrities who know of my work.
“A lot of them collect my work, from musicians to movie stars, so they come through and see the show.”
Takadiwa said before Jay-Z and Beyonce bought his artwork, it was Beyonce he first made a connection with.
“So the first connection was with Beyonce. She wanted one of my works for her music video, and from then onwards the couple at first bought a piece called ‘The Tengwe Farms’ and they ended up getting many more pieces,” he said.
Takadiwa, a role model and source of inspiration to young people, has defied the odds and made it to the top.
The same goes for Jamu, who opened an academy in Zambia in honour of his late mother.
Named Hillock Arts Foundation, the school also caters for Zimbabweans residing in Zambia and other nationalities.
He also runs the same school here, where he has been churning out students whose collections have caught the attention of international buyers.
Jamu has showcased some of his portraits in the United Kingdom, Germany, Serbia, South Africa, Morocco and Luxembourg among others.
Joining this long list is Sweden-based brand and visual communicator typeface designer, Taurai Valerie Mtake, who grabbed headlines with lettering dubbed “Madimi One”, which was considered for Google fonts.
She is joined by Nigeria-based brand and type designer Chisaokwu Joboson, whose “Ojuju” typeface has been endorsed as well. However, it is Mtake’s new milestone which has caught the attention of the world.
Typeface involves the design of letters, numbers and other symbols, to be used in printing or for electronic display.
Mtake is the co-founder of Nhaka Creative Agency, formed in 2018, as well as TaVaTake Designs formed around 2011.
These are some of the top creatives in visual arts who have made an impression.
The National Gallery of Zimbabwe has also been hailed for churning out visual artists who have gone on to shine internationally.
Although it has taken a long time for locals to appreciate visual arts, the national gallery has been churning out brilliant students who are doing well.
This has also raised the appeal of art, which has put Zimbabwe on the map.
So creative are most visual artists that they are now using discarded and recycled materials to come up with powerful collections.
Online Reporter