<strong>Tapfuma Gutsa</strong>. Photo: © Jonathan Greet, 2007.

TAPFUMA GUTSA

Tapfuma Gutsa, creating a work in the October Gallery courtyard.
Photo: © Jonathan Greet, 2007.
Tapfuma Gutsa, The Cypher, 2002.
Water Buffalo, Horn and Granite, 107 x 31 x 30 cm.


Tapfuma Gutsa’s work, both as artist and workshop leader, has transformed art practice in Zimbabwe and beyond. He explores the physical and metaphorical possibilities of materials, from granite and oak, to horn, eggshell, bone and clay. His work both advances and subverts the tradition of stone sculpture that dominated Zimbabwean art through the 1960s and '70s. Beyond the elegant confidence apparent in his choice of materials, he endows the objects he forms with an otherworldly power. Gutsa studied art at the Driefontein Mission School in Zimbabwe, and later became the first Zimbabwean recipient of a British Council award, studying at the City and Guilds School of Art, London from 1982-1985. Returning to Zimbabwe, he organised, in 1988, the first of a series of Pachipamwe workshops before establishing the Surprise studios in 1997. In 1990 he participated in the seminal exhibition African Artists: Changing Traditions at the Studio Museum, Harlem. Gutsa served as Deputy Director of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe.

In 2005, his residency at Gasworks, London, coincided with Africa Remix at the Hayward Gallery. His first solo show at October Gallery, in 2006 led to his inclusion in Uncomfortable Truths (2007) at Victoria & Albert Museum, London. In 2011, Gutsa showed in the Zimbabwean Pavilion of the 54th Venice Biennale. His works are in collections worldwide.

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View below for career highlights and works for sale by the artist.


 

CAREER HIGHLIGHTS



 

SELECTED WORKS





 

TAPFUMA GUTSA

Born 1956, Harare, Zimbabwe. Lives and works in Murehwa, Zimbabwe.
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2020   Damba nePwere, First Floor Gallery Harare, Harare, Zimbabwe
2015   Mutations and Permutations, National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
2011   Zimbabwean Pavilion, 54th Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
2006   Tapfuma Gutsa, October Gallery, London, UK
2003   The Power, The Object- The Object, The Power, Alliance Francaise, Harare, Zimbabwe
1997   The Past, Pierre Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe
The Future, National Gallery Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
1996   Seeking Permission, Reece Gallery, New York, USA
1992   Tapfuma Gutsa, Sandro’s Gallery, Harare, Zimbabwe
1987   Utonga; Sculptures and Drawings, Harare, Zimbabwe
1985   By Ginde; Of Zen, A few Pots and Other Things, Galerie der Freischaffenden, Vienna, Austria
Selected Group Exhibitions
2023   É a lama, é a lama, Elizabeth Xi Bauer Gallery, London, UK
2019   Dream No Small Dream: Celebrating 40 Years of the Transvangarde, October Gallery, London, UK
2008   Angaza Afrika, October Gallery, London, UK
2007   Voyages; Crossing the Lake of Fire, October Gallery, London, UK
Uncomfortable Truths, Victoria & Albert Museum, London, UK
2005   Transitions, Brunei Gallery, SOAS, University of London, London, UK
Wasser Brent, Gallery Habari, Vienna, Austria
2004   Dak`Art, Dakar Biennale, Senegal
Visions of Zimbabwe, Manchester City Art Gallery, Manchester, UK
Step Inside, Gallery Dieleman, Chateau de Petit Leez, Belgium
2002   Kakuyu Ke Munyaka, Gallery Dieleman, Chateau de Petit Leez, Belgium
2000   South Meets West, Kunsthalle Bern, Bern, Switzerland
1999   Eddie Masaya, Richard Jack, and Tapfuma Gutsa, Künstlerhaus im Schlossgarten, Cuxhaven, Germany
1998   Zimbabwe Heritage, National Gallery Zimbabwe, Harare, Zimbabwe
1997   Landmark, The Midlands Artists, National Gallery, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe
Sculpture from Zimbabwe, Melbourne, Australia
1995   Johannesburg Biennale, Johannesburg, South Africa
Genesis, Gallery Muensterland, Emsdetten, Germany
180 Degrees, Group Exhibition, Los Angeles, USA
1994   Strong Winds, Stage Design, Arnolfini Theatre, Bristol, UK
Alliance Francaise, Harare, Zimbabwe
Gallery Del Ta, Harare, Zimbabwe
1993   Gallri Knud Grothe, Finland
Open Studios, Delfina Studios, London, UK
1991   Contemporary Stone Sculpture from Zimbabwe, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Yorkshire, UK
African Pavilion, Venice Biennale, Venice, Italy
New Generation; Tapfuma Gutsa, Eddie Masaya, Richard Jack, Brighton Sango, Norbert Shamuyarira, Le Forum, Harare, Zimbabwe
Havana Biennale, Havana, Cuba
1990   Contemporary African Art, Studio Museum, New York, USA
1989   Pachipamwe International Artists Workshop Exhibition, Harare, Zimbabwe
1988   Sculptures by Tapfuma Gutsa, and Drawings and Paintings by Berry Bickle, Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe
1985   New Horizons, Royal Festival Hall, London, UK
Hope, Botanical Gardens, Berlin, Germany
Kunst Aus Zimbabwe, Bayreuth Museum, Bayreuth, Germany
1981   Gallery Delta, Harare, Zimbabwe
Awards
2003   NAMA Award, (National Award for the Arts)
Best achievement Zimbabwean sculpture
1995   President’s Award of Honour, Zimbabwe Heritage, Harare
1993   Artist’s Residency Programme, Delfina Studios, London
1992   Johnson & Fletcher Award, Ability in Wood, Harare
1986   Nedlaw Sculpture Award, Nat. Gallery, Harare
1981   Oxyco Weldart, National Gallery, Harare

OCTOBER GALLERY ARTISTS