EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD Takudzwa Madzitire has become a household name in the Shaurayi Tione group of visual artists.
The artist’s imaginative works revolve around his personal experiences and aspirations of his rural community.
A former Nyamhingura Secondary School student, Madzitire believes that art curators should explore and broaden their scope of selection to include rural artists.
There is an abundance of talent in his own village and it only takes curators to open lucrative markets for the rural communities, the artist said.
“Mr Mavere, my primary school teacher, inspired me a lot and kept encouraging me to make improvements on each and every drawing and painting I made. It is now close to two years since l left Nyamhingura Secondary School and l now do most of my creative work at home,” Madzitire told NewsDay Life & Style.
“l have done a lot of works and due to lack of resources l have missed several exhibitions which are usually done at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare. It is also regrettable that the National Gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare which made me known to several artists and curators is facing closure. I cannot do anything else because l did Art as a subject in secondary school and for now it has kept me well and better than anything else l could opt for,” Madzitire said.
His works are varied and range from paintings, drawings and wood and stone carving.
Madzitire became arguably one of the youngest exhibitors at the Mutare National Gallery and his carving attracted a lot of art lovers. Painstakingly done is a spring stone abstract of a woman carrying a clay pot suitable for indoor and outdoor displays and exhibitions.
The statuette carries hidden messages on cultural reparations and restoration, especially on fashion, pottery and the life of a rural woman in general.
After all this, he may have to incur costs of carrying his huge figurine back to Honde Valley for safekeeping until another lease of life is granted.
Museums and galleries traditionally employ a number of curators whose role is primarily to source and develop art collections. Most of the time curators help creatives or artists in general to perfect their works. They go a step further in preparing interpretations in the form of synopsis that inspire the public.
For Madzitire, curators are important people who can help him to shape his career while improving his skills.
Madzitire has other paintings of African Women, Piggery, Classroom Education between Teachers and Students, Library Books, Nature Drawings, The Airplane and Birds which all portray his inclination towards figurative expressions
Madzitire said he looked forward to enrolling at a vocational or technical college to further his studies.