Barnard is pleased to present Gore ra 2020, a series of twelve new paintings by Richard Mudariki. The artist is known for paintings that tackle a wide range of political and social debates with an arresting and unique visual language characterized by bright colours, irrational spaces and perspectives, theatrical compositions and allegorical use of symbolism. Regularly appealing to the viewer’s sense of humour, Mudariki’s theatricality nevertheless maintains a restless, foreboding energy in its engagement with the duplicity and deception which characterizes so much of contemporary social and political debates.
Gore ra 2020 is a series of works that explore notions of collective memory, social and political commentary and the marking of the passage of time. These paintings highlight particular events that took place in what will surely go down as amongst one of the more significant years in history. From the emergence of the COVID19 virus in Wuhan City, China in January and its subsequent outbreak, to the pandemic lockdowns in March, spikes in gender based violence (GBV) in July, to the vaccine trials in September as well as the US elections, Mudariki in his characteristic satirical style paints 'the year that was 2020'.
Mudariki has presented seven solo exhibitions to date and his work has been selected for inclusion on curated exhibitions at significant venues in Johannesburg, Cape Town, London, Paris and New York. He has also participated in various international art fairs including, amongst others, 1:54 Contemporary African Art Fair, London and New York; EXPO Chicago and AKAA: Also Known As Africa, Paris. His work is represented in the collections of IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town; Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town; SANLAM, Cape Town & Johannesburg; Leridon Collection, Paris; West Collection, Philadelphia, USA and the Thomas J. Watson Library Collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York.