Kenneth Lasa
Kenneth Lasa, born the eldest grand child to basket weaving and claypot-moulding grandparents on the 17th of March 1971 in the Thyolo district of Malawi . Kenneth migrated to Zimbabwe, then Rhodesia, with both parents in 1975 when he was four years old.
Kenneth attended his first year of primary education at Tinhirano Primary School in 1978, before completion of primary education in 1984. It was during Kenneth´s fifth year at school that he discovered he had inherited his grandparents´s artistic capabilities, passion and feelings. Kenneth got so immensely involved and interested in clay moulding, craftwork and some paper painting as well, that by the time he was doing his seventh and final year (grade 7), he was drafted in the school´s art club. They competed with other primary schools within the community in the so-called ´´inter-schools art festival´´ and to no surprise, through personal motivation, dedication, commitment and the undying desire to achieve the best by the club members, the school was overall award winner in the competition.
In 1985 Kenneth enrolled for his secondary education at Tafara II High School. Since the famous artist Tapfuma Gutsa was living a few houses away from him, Kenneth approached him about trying his hand in stone carving and he heartily welcomed and encouraged him. Kenneth could go to his place during weekends and school holidays and helped him with final touches of ´´sandpapering´´ some of the sculptures and in return Tapfuma gave him some coins to spend at school. Now that he enjoyed himself at school during break time and lunch hour with the few coins given to him, this further multiplied his vigor and interest in stone sculpture.
Kenneth sold one of his first stone sculptures to a collector from Holland in 1988. From then on he never looked back. When he completed his secondary education in 1988, he had no career at heart, contrary to the other school levers and wanted to instead continue to sculpture.
With encouragement from childhood friends namely Vickson Kaphombe, Costa Balakasi, the new reckoned Dominic Benhura, who was then staying with Tapfuma Gutsa and others, he ended up selling his sculptures at Chapungu Sculpture Park and the National Art Gallery.
Because he felt he needed so much exposure in the world of art (sculpting stone) he went to Chapungu Sculpture Park where he worked from 1996 with artists, some of them who are well known with the country and abroad. He worked with Eddie Masaya, Cosmos Muchenje, Gerald Takawira and Joseph Mazondo, who were working under the Chapungu Sculpture Park residence programme until he left to work on his own in December 1998.
Kenneth has managed to sell and exhibit his work with galleries in Arizona and Chicargo in the USA in 1999, which were a great success. He has also sold work to collectors in the Netherlands, Belgium, Cape Town (South Africa), Germany, Australia and the UK.
Kenneth´s ambition is to become one of Zimbabwe´s leading and talented artists and uplift the upcoming generation of artists.
Artist Sculpture:
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