Gareth Nyandoro profile

20 Apr, 2018 - 00:04 0 Views

eBusiness Weekly

Arts Correspondent
Zimbabwe has many renowned visual artists who have managed to create a name for themselves in Zimbabwe and in different parts of the world. Their works have been exhibited in the country’s galleries and also in other prominent galleries such as the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa.

The National Gallery of Zimbabwe has been central to the meteoric rise of Zimbabwean artists on the world art market. One artist who has managed to have a successful career through the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and other local and international galleries is Gareth Nyandoro.

Born in Bikita in 1982, Gareth acquired his National Diploma in Fine Art from Harare Polytechnic in 2003 and later advanced his studies in Creative Arts and Design at the Chinhoyi University of Technology in 2008.

Every artists has a focus which differs according to their area of surrounding and different factors which could be political, social or economically-oriented.

For Gareth, his works are inspired by the social aspects of the society and that is mainly the street life with noticeable combinations of images of vendors with found materials which he processes by employing eccentric variations on traditional craft skills. His unique technique “KUCHE-KACHEKA” involves cutting right into the paper, applying ink onto it and removing the top layer of paper with tape so the ink is only left behind in the cuts. The use of paper, which is a fragile and a short-lived material references the temporary nature of the marketplace.

Gareth has worked multiple times with the National Gallery of Zimbabwe. Through the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Gareth Nyandoro and other two artists, Chikonzero Chazunguza, Masimba Hwati were representatives for the Zimbabwe Pavilion at the Venice Biennale 56th International Art Exhibition.

The exhibition was titled Pixels of Ubuntu/Unhu and it was curated by Raphael Chikukwa. The Venice Biennale provides a platform for artists to present their work to a bigger market and audience.

By holding exhibitions of artworks from all over the world annually, curators, artists, collectors, art dealers and journalists find themselves at this big event to see a splurge of art, from the official National Pavilions.

This allows participating artists to promote and sell their art pieces to a much wider audience. The three created new artworks and multimedia installations that will transform the entirety of Santa Maria della Pieta into an authentic Zimbabwean environment.

This kind of exposure for Nyandoro strengthened his career and has made him one of the most prominent Zimbabwean artists.

With his work, Gareth attempts to simulate the market environment by bringing two — dimensional and three — dimensional components together through drawing, braces, and objects to create works reflecting his research in relation to space, narrative, or storytelling, and materials as they are changed and shifted.

In Venice, he worked with these diverse aspects of his practice to create two distinct rooms, with common themes unifying and resonating in the entire space with the other artists, relating to the present condition of Zimbabwean identity.

His Mushika Shika Yevanhu installations examined in minute detail whether the new age transitional marketplace and associated identities of the touts, vendors and audience had a lasting impact on our humankind, the past and culture identifying how they express who we are.

When artists establishes connections and links with galleries, representation reaches better levels as galleries and art museums accommodate a wider audience through their connection with business practitioners, art dealers and well established artists.

Galleries also give a boost to upcoming artists by providing the right exposure through exhibitions such as the Zimbabwe Annual Art exhibition.

One of his biggest breakthrough was in 2012 when he had a debut solo exhibition which was titled Mutaririat. This created a foundation for other exhibitions in the African continent and other international galleries.

In 2014 and 2015, Nyandoro was a resident artist at the Rijksakedemie van Beeldende Kunsten in Amsterdam, Netherlands.

Above all, one can note that Gareth Nyandoro has managed to create a name for himself through his unique artistic styles inspired by the street life which anyone can relate to.

His participation with a number of local and international galleries has ensured that he develops strong business roots with a bigger audience. His commitment towards his work has made him one of Zimbabwe’s most prominent and bankable artists.

Share This:

Sponsored Links

Survey


We value your opinion! Take a moment to complete our survey

This will close in 20 seconds