Zimbabwean-born, South African-based visual artist Ronald Muchatuta has been selected to represent Zimbabwe at the 59th Venice Biennale in 2022. The Pavillion is to be curated by Fadzai Muchemwa.
For Muchatuta, who has lived and worked in Cape Town for the past 13 years, much of his work explores one of Zimbabwe’s largest social issues – life in the Diaspora. His practice examines the effect of leaving one’s homeland physically, spiritually and psychologically. Migration, refugees, poverty, and different forms of injustice are often portrayed in his artworks, as he uses his platform as a means of change and discourse in our contemporary context.
‘For Ronald, the quest for art is a never-ending chase, and what enlightenment it can bring; opening doors of perception onto unknown realities. A redeeming force, it can prevent man from stopping in his tracks, from moving backward and dragging his own world with him. I am glad that being out there in South Africa, Muchatuta is able to withstand the diasporic pressure and to be able to practice as a notable artist.’
Chief Curator of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Raphael Chikuwa
Most recently, Muchatuta exhibited a solo show at The Melrose Gallery titled Kurarama. Find out more about the artist and his work here.
