The National Gallery of Zimbabwe (NGZ) in Harare will today launch Only What is Revealed Can Be Known, which is a new all-female group exhibition featuring the work of Amanda Mushate, Amanda Norton, Mavis Tauzeni, Martina Gruber, Eva Raath, Chipo Mapondera and Sabina Mutsvati.
The exhibition is open until May 31.
The curator for contemporary art at the NGZ, Fadzai Muchemwa, said the artworks in the exhibition are powerful expressions of the artists’ perspectives, experiences, and visions for a more inclusive and equitable world.
“In the quiet chambers of existence, where shadows dance and light plays its enigmatic game, we find ourselves drawn to the interplay between revelation and concealment,” Muchemwa said in a statement. “Only What is Revealed Can Be Known whispers the ancient wisdom, urging us to explore the delicate balance between the seen and the unseen. Welcome to Only What is Revealed Can Be Known, an exhibition that invites you to unravel the mysteries hidden within the folds of perception.”
The contributing artists all use a variety of mediums to express their creativity as well as different background experiences and new angles of analysing and addressing what takes place in society.
“I am feeling honoured to be part of this line-up of female artists. It is awesome that it is a smaller group of seven artists. This allows each of us to show a number of our works and demonstrate the diversity of our different and unique visual languages and use of media,” Martina Gruber told IndependentXtra.
Gruber who lives and works between Zimbabwe and Austria contributed five pieces, namely Resigned, I hear her voice calling my name, Checkers, Unstoppable Today and Around Me.
“Each piece within my collection delves into the essence of amplification, from the subtle nuances of silence to the dynamic movement of landscapes. Each artwork offers a pronounced perspective on existence's complexities,” she said.
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Amanda Mushate is an innovative young abstractionist with a growing international reputation.
She was mentored by Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude to develop a vibrant and unique personal vision and modes of expression, presenting her first solo exhibition in 2018 with First Floor Gallery Harare.
“Our paintings are a tool to also show that we can do it. We can do what other people don't expect from us. Women are also leaders and we are making it in a male-dominated industry which is a good thing. I am humbled to be part of the show,” she said.
Multidisciplinary visual artist Amanda Norton works in a variety of media such as printmaking, photography and installation.
With a focus on materiality and process, her work investigates the poetics of light, the making of meaning and the possibility of the unknown.
Chipo Mapondera is a creative technologist based between Zimbabwe and the UK. She works in fashion having worked for some of the most globally recognised companies, including Vogue, Elle, Chanel and The Net-a-Porter Group. Her expertise encompasses fashion editorial, marketing and tech.
In her artistic practice, the artist creates virtual reality experiences connecting people, nature and spirituality.
Sabina Mutsvati is a well-travelled and internationally renowned fashion designer and fine artist whose work has been featured at prestigious fashion shows, both at home and abroad.
Sabina has designed costumes for theatre plays, films and television commercials. She has also designed stage sets for musicians and poets.
As a way of evolving her work, Sabina is exploring fashion in VR.
Mavis Tauzeni works in print and mixed media.
She speaks unapologetically from a woman’s perspective and constantly reflects on the mutable relationship between a woman, her potential and her actuality in daily life and through the life cycle. She represented First Floor Gallery Harare at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London (2013) and Berliner Liste (2013).
Eva Raath completed her Bachelor of Fine Arts at Rhodes University, South Africa, specialising in printmaking.
After a decade in Europe, discovering the artistic history of France and Spain, she was happy to return home, where Zimbabwe's light and creative energy are her foremost inspiration.
She currently works as an art teacher in Harare.
