Raphael Mavudzi
Raphael Mavudzi, born 13 December 1970 in Harare.
““We possess two things - our body and our soul - many people have tended to satisfy the body and forget about the soul. This brings about a lot of sorrow in one“s life. Without satisfying your soul life is meaningless. Personally, creation calms me and soothes my soul, the physical act of sculpting brings me spiritual sustenance““. ““Art is like a religion. I am deep in prayer when I am striking the rock. The feeling of satisfaction fills me every time I finish a sculpture““.
In 1993 Raphael held a one-man exhibition at the John Boyne Gallery, followed by a group exhibition at the Alliance Francois in Harare. In 1996 he traveled to South Africa for exhibitions in Durban and Cape Town, returning to Zimbabwe in May 1997.
August 1997 he was selected to join the Chapungu Resident Artist Program for 1998/1999. This is a program run for a select number of promising artist during which time they are provided with tools and stone on the Chapungu Estate and encouraged and taught by invited artists (the top stone artists in Zimbabwe including Nicholas Mukomberanwa, Bernard Matemera, The Takawira brothers - John and Bernard).
Raphael worked very closely with Nicholas Mukomberanwa for a number of years, often working together on the same sculpture until Nicholas“s untimely death in 2003. With his dear friend and mentor now passed, Raphael continues striving for individuality of style and superior quality of work that Nicholas strived for. Now amongst the top Zimbabwean sculptors himself, Raphael“s work stand out as an example for other artists.
In an International Granite Sculpture Workshop held in 1998 Raphael dominated the exceptionally hard stone and produced exceptional work. His media of preference remains in the hard Springstone and granite with geometric shapes becoming most characteristic in his work. His subject matter varies greatly. The stone texture is used to great advantage with significant surfaces of smooth high gloss finish alongside areas of rough-hewn unpolished stone. This often creates an illusion of a “shadow“ to an already stunning work giving great depth and mystique.
Artist Sculpture:
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