Barnard
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Gallery
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • Art Fairs
  • Publications
  • Viewing Rooms
  • News
  • Press
  • Contact
Menu
  • Menu
  • Viewing Room
Richard Mudariki
Viewing Room, 22 - 29 July 2020

Richard Mudariki: Viewing Room

Past viewing_room
  • Often drawing on classic compositions from the Old Masters of European art history, Richard Mudariki reinterprets these iconic scenes with...

    Often drawing on classic compositions from the Old Masters of European art history, Richard Mudariki reinterprets these iconic scenes with his own cast of human and animal characters, constructing a mise-en-scenewhich resituates the drama within a contemporary, Southern African social context. Mudariki tackles a widerange 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 politics. In the artist’s quotations of iconic moments in European art, he also questions notions of canonicity and accepted narratives of art history, considering his position – and the position of African artists more generally – within it.

  • Available Works

    • Richard Mudariki, Restorative Surgery, 2020
      Richard Mudariki, Restorative Surgery, 2020
    • Richard Mudariki, Passport Size Photo I, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Passport Size Photo I, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, Time Trap, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Time Trap, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, The Son of Afrika, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, The Son of Afrika, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, Man of God, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Man of God, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, Selfie, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Selfie, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, Virtual Reality "VR" Sangoma, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Virtual Reality "VR" Sangoma, 2019
    • Richard Mudariki, On Residency, 2016 - 2018
      Richard Mudariki, On Residency, 2016 - 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, On Whatsapp, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, On Whatsapp, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Kufa nenyota makumbo ari mumvura, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, Kufa nenyota makumbo ari mumvura, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Africa's Chess, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, Africa's Chess, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, The Fountainhead, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, The Fountainhead, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Simbarashe, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, Simbarashe, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Madame, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, Madame, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Rutendo, 2018
      Richard Mudariki, Rutendo, 2018
    • Richard Mudariki, Ballot Box, 2019
      Richard Mudariki, Ballot Box, 2019
    Close
  • Born and educated in Zimbabwe, Richard Mudariki studied under the mentorship of renowned painter Helen Lieros and Greg Shaw at Gallery Delta in Harare. He subsequently moved to South Africa and is now based in Cape Town.

     

    The artist has presented solo exhibitions in Harare, Cape Town, Paris and New York and his work has been included in curated survey exhibitions at prestigious venues including IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town and ZEITZ Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town. The artist’s paintings have achieved consistently good results on the secondary market at auction including Sotheby’s, London sales of ‘Modern and Contemporary African Art’.

     

    Mudariki’s work is represented in the collection of IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town; SANLAM, Cape Town & Johannesburg; Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa (MOCAA), Cape Town; The Leridon Collection, Paris; The West Collection, Philadelphia, USA and the Thomas J. Watson Library at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

  • Press

    • The Most Instagrammed Art of Frieze Week 2019
      Press

      The Most Instagrammed Art of Frieze Week 2019

      May 4, 2019
    • The Tantalizing Photographic Figure at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair
      Press

      The Tantalizing Photographic Figure at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair

      May 3, 2019
    • Maonero Angu (My Reality II)
      Press

      Maonero Angu (My Reality II)

      December 1, 2018
    • A dazzling smile behind the scenes of a world unravelling
      Press

      A dazzling smile behind the scenes of a world unravelling

      October 28, 2018
  • The artist’s much anticipated first solo exhibition at Barnard, entitled Maoneru Angu (My Reality II) was highly commended by collectors...

    The artist’s much anticipated first solo exhibition at Barnard, entitled Maoneru Angu (My Reality II) was highly commended by collectors and critics alike and his paintings were subsequently presented at AKAA: Also Known as Africa (Barnard, Le Carreau du Temple, Paris, 2018). The artist’s work was also included in Centennial: A Century of Art from the Sanlam Art Collection 1918 – 2018 (SANLAM, Cape Town & Johannesburg, 2018); Five Bhobh: Painting at the End of an Era (Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town, 2018-2019) and Filling in the Gaps (IZIKO South African National Gallery, Cape Town, 2019).

     

    In May 2019 Barnard produced a limited edition hard cover publication of the artist’s work; the book entitled Ndini Here (Is this me?) was launched in New York where Barnard presented Mudariki’s first solo show in North America at 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in Manhattan. Curators from the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) expressed interest in the artist’s work and the West Collection, Philidelphia acquired two of his paintings. 

  • Publication: Ndini Here? (Is This Me?)

Manage cookies
Copyright © 2023 Barnard
Online Viewing Rooms by Artlogic
Facebook, opens in a new tab.
Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences