Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
| Kudzanai-Violet Hwami | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kudzanai-Violet Hwami 1993 Gutu |
| Residence | United Kingdom |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Citizenship | Zimbabwean |
| Education | Wimbledon College of Arts, London, UK. |
| Alma mater | Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, Oxford, UK. |
| Occupation | Artist |
| Years active | 2016 to Current |
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami is a London-based artist born in Zimbabwe and raised in South Africa. She is represented by Tyburn Gallery. The painter Kudzanai-Violet Hwami has an interpretive ability to take apart old stories and refashion them in such a way that compelling new narratives are born.[1]
Background
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami was born in Gutu, Zimbabwe in 1993, and lived in South Africa from the ages of 9 to 17. She currently lives and works in the UK. Hwami’s work is born out of the migration and displacement that followed Zimbabwe’s decline in the late 1990s.
Education
- BTEC National Diploma in Art and Design, North Manchester College (2013).
- Bachelor of Fine Arts, Concentration in Painting, Wimbledon College of Arts, London, UK (2016).
- Master of Fine Arts, Ruskin School of Art, Oxford University, Oxford, UK (2021).
Career
In 2017, she mounted her first solo show, If you keep going South, you’ll meet yourself, at Tyburn Gallery, which was critically acclaimed by critics and the press.
Hwami’s courageous and tender oil paintings reveal a deeply personal vision of Southern African life. Many of her paintings feature self-portraits and images of her immediate and extended family. Powerful nudes are another point of departure, boldly raising questions about the black body and its representation, as well as sexuality, gender and spirituality. Her influences include music, such as ZimHeavy & Afrobeats; literature, including the works of Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn and Carl Jung; and her own ongoing voyage of self-discovery.
The artist’s vivid work raises issues surrounding diaspora, displacement and identity. Her process involves experimenting with photography and digitally collaged images, using these to create large works on paper or canvas with intensely pigmented oil paint, and often incorporating other media and techniques, such as silkscreen, pastel or charcoal.[2]
Exhibitions
Recent exhibitions include:
- The Zimbabwe Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, 2019;
- Les Ateliers de Rennes–Biennale d’Art Contemporain, Rennes; Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town; Triangle France, Marseille; Stephen Friedman Gallery, London; Espace Art Absolument, Paris; Fondation Clément, Martinique (all 2018);
- National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare;
- Tyburn Gallery, London (all 2017).
Awards
- In 2016, the same year she graduated from college, Hwami was awarded the Clyde & Co Award and the Young Achiever of the Year Award at the Zimbabwean International Women’s Awards, as well as featured in Bloomberg New Contemporaries.[3]
- Nominee: Young Achiever of the Year, Zimbabwean International Women’s Awards.
Picture Gallery
2017: Family Portrait by Kudzanai-Violet Hwami. Her work stems from the migration and displacement that followed Zimbabwe’s decline in the late 1990s. (Image courtesy of the artist)
Videos
