In the profound words of late music icon, Nina Simone, an artist’s duty is to reflect the times. Renowned for poetic paintings that illustrate the contemporary political landscape, Zimbabwean visual artist, Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude holds the same sentiment.
Born and bred in Harare, Zimbabwe, Nyaude’s art oscillates between figuration, abstraction, and hallucination, drawing from the restless energy of his hometown. An alumni of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe Visual Arts Studios, his work has been widely exhibited throughout his native Harare, as well as South Africa, Australia, and the United Kingdom.
From his “Loving Monro Gallery” exhibition in Santa Monica to being featured in “Songs for Sabotage,” the New Museum Triennial in New York, Nyaunde has earned his stripes in the visual arts industry.
Recently, the virtuosic artist won the prestigious FNB Art Prize following a stellar showcase from his solo exhibition dubbed “Immanentize the Eschaton.”
We chat with Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude about his latest milestone, the correlation between art and social justice, future plans, and more!
Hearty congratulations on winning the prestigious FNB Art Prize. How do you feel about achieving this milestone?
I am really thrilled, honestly. Last month I opened my fourth solo with First Floor Gallery Harare, which I feel is the most important body of work I have made to date and the recognition of my practice by FNB Art Prize is such a tremendous confirmation of my efforts. I feel very fortunate. Also, recognition by a prize in Africa is especially rewarding.
Your artistic work spans over 16 years. How did it all begin for you? When did you fall in love with storytelling through visual art?
I think expressing my ideas visually has been there from the earliest time. My father worked as an illustrator for magazines, drawing cartoons, so this understanding of responding to what happens in life visually is both nature and nurture. But interestingly I never thought of it as a possible profession, I just drew. But as fate would have it, Wycliffe Mundopa was my classmate in high school and we were drawing together and he was the one who said something like you know, this art thing can be a job and that was a revelation.
What was the inspiration behind your art pieces for the FNB Art Joburg exhibition?
So the paintings proposed for the prize are actually part of my solo exhibition ‘Immanentize the Eschaton’. It is an expression that means something like bringing about heaven on earth. I think a lot of us especially in Zimbabwe think in utopian terms, expecting sudden miracles that will change everything overnight. If only this one thing is changed then everything will be transformed. I feel that in many ways this becomes an obstacle to making things right and seizing the opportunity to address problems rationally with hard work without any magical shortcuts. So that is the underlying narrative for the whole show.
Your work generally visualises a compelling balance between hope and political resistance. What is our creative process?
I think that as an artist it is my responsibility to be responsive to what is happening in my place and time constantly. I read a lot and follow political developments and how they impact my everyday reality and that of my friends and neighbours. In Zimbabwe, this is a very tangible connection. Sometimes there will come a moment when a personal event becomes a catalyst for exploding into a whole body of work and that is how it happens. There is a need to connect the intellectual and the deeply emotional and when that contact is made then the work happens and happens quickly even if the build-up may have been months.
Satire is also a recurring theme in your work. Tell us more about that.
I think satire is a defensive and compassionate quality in Zimbabwean culture and my work. We don’t want to engage in direct confrontations so satirising problems, especially through the use of metaphor or proverb becomes a way of addressing things that a potentially painful and traumatic lightly and giving space for others to draw conclusions as they may.
What role would you say art has to play in politics, particularly in modern society?
I think as an artist my job is to respond and reflect. I have my own views on things but I am only one person and I give space to my audiences to make up their own minds and relate to the work in their own way from their own perspective. After all my audiences are all around the world and live different lives, cultures, and experiences. The way we connect is on the basis of shared humanity and the capacity to dream and imagine and be free. That is the foundation of my practice. It is arrogant to imagine that an artwork can change the world. If my painting can make someone feel or think and feel some kind of way that is already something.
You have reached many career milestones, including presenting a major body of work in the United States as part of Songs for Sabotage at the New Museum Triennial. What are some of your most memorable career accomplishments?
I feel truly fortunate and grateful that art has been for me an opportunity to experience the world, that is a true gift. Coming to New York for Songs of Sabotage was extraordinary, not the least because it was New York the city where Basquiat lived and worked, the city where rap and hip hop originated, all big influences for me. Being acquired by The Smithsonian National Museum of African Art, was also a huge honour. At the same time, I have cherished really the opportunity to exhibit in Shanghai with Vanguard Gallery, because it opened me up to the idea of how art bridges cultural divides in ways that are truly magical.
As a seasoned artist who has been in the industry for many years, what is your advice to young people who have dreams of pursuing a career in the arts?
As a senior artist at First Floor Gallery Harare, supporting younger artists in the programme is part of our collaboration and something I really cherish. I think a lot of young artists are especially over the past few years want to achieve everything all at once and that is an illusion. There are no shortcuts to developing your skills, you need to focus on the joy you get in making your work rather than external status signalling and comparing yourself to what others do or have. I would also say that art is not a job it is a lifelong vocation, sometimes you are up, and sometimes you are down in the market but if you are invested in your work and love what you do that is what will see you through. Of course, it is easier said than done but that is the only way.
2024 has already been an incredible year for you. What’s next for Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude?
It is an incredible year. Following Art Joburg I am really thrilled to be taking part in a major exhibition focused on contemporary Zimbabwean painting, at Fondation Blachère in Provence, I also have a project in New York coming up as well as the solo at Johannesburg Art Gallery to plan for. All of this means that I will be in the studio a lot and I am looking forward to it!
