Quick Facts
Biography
Masimba Hwati (born 1982, Harare) is a Zimbabwean interdisciplinary artist, working at the intersections of Sculpture, performance and sound, known for unconventional three-dimensional mixed media sculptures. Hwati graduated from Harare Polytechnic School of Art and Design in 2003 where he majored in Ceramics and Painting. Hwati taught Visual Arts and 3D Art at Harare Polytechnic School of Art and Design. He is currently finishing his MFA in 2019 at the Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design University of Michigan, Ann Arbor He was most recently, included in the Montreal Museum of Fine Art's (MMFA) exhibition, Face To Face: From Yesterday to Today, Non-Western Art and Picasso. In 2015, he was also one of three artists selected for Pixels Of Ubuntu/Unhu for the Zimbabwean Pavilion at the 56th Venice Biennale. He is an honorary research fellow at Rhodes University Fine Arts Department in Grahamstown, South Africa.
Techniques and aims
Hwati explores the transformation and evolution of knowledge systems that are indigenous to his own background whilst experimenting with the symbolism and perceptions attached to cultural objects, expressed as an art movement known as "The Energy of Objects".
Hwati attempts to work from basics, creating his own pigments, and creating objects from basic materials. His works use contemporary and historical themes. He also works extensively with found objects, transfoming existing artifacts into elements of works of art.
Hwati says that he should be able to find at least 35 variations in any given object, but says that often he cannot realize more than ten.
Critical reception
The University of Michigan School of Artwrote about Hwati's 2015 Exhibition there:
Zimbabwean multi-disciplinary artist Masimba Hwati examines postcolonial themes by re-appropriating archives and objects and presenting them in new contexts. With an emphasis on sculptural work, Hwati collects historical, culturally imbued items ranging from cars and shoes, to scrap metal and found objects, altering and repositioning them in a contemporary urban setting.
Masimba Hwati was named amongst 12 "The Ones to Watch" by New African Magazine ahead of the 1-54 Contemporary Art Fair in London at Somerset House.
Awards and honors
In 2006 he won the National Art Merit Award, the highest individual art honour in Zimbabwe.Hwati is one of three national representatives currently showing at the Zimbabwean Pavilion exhibition; Pixels Of Ubuntu/Unhu at the 56th Venice Biennale
| Year | Institution | Award |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Penny W. Stamps School of Art and Design (MFA First Year Exhibition) | Jean Paul Slusser Award |
| 2016 | Cape Town Art Fair | Special Project |
| 2015 | 56th Venice Biennale | Pixels Of Ubuntu/Unhu |
| 2006 | National Arts Merit Awards (NAMA) | |
| 2014 | Research Fellow the Arts of Africa and the Global South search Program Rhodes University Grahamstown South Africa | Associate Artist /Honorary |
Exhibitions
Solo Exhibitions
- 2017 Art Brussels - Belgium (Solo booth Smac Gallery)
- 2017 Instruments of Memory Stellenbosch Cape Town
- 2016 Instruments of Memory / Simbi dzeNdangariro Smac Gallery Stellenbosch, Cape Town, South Africa
- 2016 Joburg Art fair Trek: Following Journeys 16.05.15 – 27.06.15
- 2014 Quantumlogik, Solo Exhibition, Gallery Delta Harare Zimbabwe
- 2010 Facsimiles of Energy, Solo Exhibition, Gallery Delta Harare Zimbabwe
Group exhibitions
- 2015 Venice Biennale All the Worlds’ futures Curated by Okwui Enwezor, Pixels of Ubuntu Zimbabwe pavilion, curated by Raphael Chikukwa
- 2015 London I:54 Art Fair, London, UK