HENRY CHIPADZA has a huge portfolio of beautiful portraits and wall paintings among them Dengu Ravasikana, Shiri Inozongofa and Mbakumba Dancers.
An acrylic and oil painter, Chipadza developed a passion for potraying life issues through pictures and adoration of scenes from magazines and surrounding nature at a very young age.
He harked back to fond memories of colour shading of images of his surroundings at primary school and viewed his four-year study for a diploma in art and design at Mutare Polytechnic as a dream come true and a breakthrough, and credits the Jacaranda Art Fair for throwing him into the limelight.
“Painting is a profession that can make one have a decent living, The Jacaranda Art Fair gives clients and artists a rare opportunity to mix and mingle while sharing a common understanding on life issues,” he noted.
“My approach to realism art is simply rooted in providing an alternative and effective way of communicating or keeping event memories.”
Chipadza values his cultural upbringing and wishes to refine his understanding of music, painting and drawing through portraying images that give people a clear, accurate and fair account of their experiences.
“Dengu Ravasikana is a depiction of the fact that every community in a Shona society defines beautiful girls as those who are hardworking, exercise self-control, are willing to learn and have self-esteem.
“The painting reflects on girls sharing a fruit at crop harvesting after winnowing and centrifuging, wood cutting, cooking and or fetching water among other traditional roles of a woman. The image shows a deep sense that an aesthetic of African beauty is made known through bead work, hairstyles, oil treatment, dress code and just the relaxed sense shown by smiles,” he said.
- Chipadza paints practicality in human life
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“Women share knowledge faster than men. If the collaboration and sharing culture is effectively developed, the world can fast become a better place for the entire human race. A good knowledge transfer and sharing can be derived from maintaining traditional practices.
“Girls usually have a girl talk and boys should also have opportunities for talking about their future and cultural beliefs.”
Shiri Inozongofa encourages people to nurture their culture as long as life permits while the Mbakumba Dancers also exposes Chipadza’s passion for music and dance.
The visual artist also acquired a certificate in visual and performance art from the Music Consultancy Society where he did a lot of paintings to assist the institution in leveraging on teaching and learning potential in the field of arts.
“Visual art needs a lot of patience and practice and I would like to encourage parents to teach their children arts from early childhood so that when they get to college, they broaden their scope to provide solutions to the economy through art,” he noted.
“I would also like to challenge art galleries to introduce art competitions for children, be it drawing, painting, writing, sculpting and the like. The curated works will help children to develop their own role models and best practice while they admire and get acquainted with events like the Vinicio Biennial Visual Art Olympics and other world-class renowned arts competitions.
“They say school days are the best days and arts disciplines are in most cases the ones that make people have good memories of their school days.”
Chipadza said artists needed to be disciplined and value their artistry and not just randomly rush for a quick escape from economic hardships.
“Professional artists through training should be fully aware of the fact that art usually makes gradual sales and as such an investment into other entrepreneurial activities closely linked to art is advisable,” he noted.
Chipadza sometimes diverts from portrait paintings to household wall painting and at times decorations including industrial billboards when opportunities arise.
“My painting on the Violin Player appreciates the role of teachers and mentors in building good practical musicianship. The many hands are symbolic of different occasions of correcting posture, dexterity, breath control and the practical musicianship in itself,” he said.
In the long run, Chipadza wishes to take part at virtual and physical international exhibitions through establishing a resilient online platform which is capable of converting markets into sales. He is also willing to take up funded creative responses that enhance his appreciation of African values.
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