Lot 41

Misheck Masamvu (Zimbabwean, 1980)
Punishing Elements and Heat of the Night, 2002
Signed ‘M. Masamvu 02’ and ‘M. Masamvu’
Oil on canvas laid down on board
91 x 61 cm each
KES 200,000 – 350,000 for the pair
(US$) 1,550 – 2,750
Provenance: Bought by the current owner from Delta Gallery, Harare in 2002

Misheck Masamvu was born in Penhalonga, Zimbabwe. He studied art under Helen Leiros at Gallery Delta in Harare and at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Masamvu works primarily as a painter, but also produces sculpture and drawings and is considered one of the most significant contemporary artists living and working in Zimbabwe. Masamvu’s use of layers and colour and line expose the political and social turmoil experienced on a daily basis by those living in Zimbabwe. He explores the relationship of power in the past and its effect on the present whilst embracing the artist’s role of social commentator.

Misheck Masamvu has exhibited extensively in both solo and group exhibitions throughout the world, including in Paris, Lisbon, Brussels, Sydney and Cape Town and more recently in major international exhibitions including the 22nd Sydney Biennale in 2020 and the 32nd São Paulo Biennale in 2024. Masamvu’s artworks can be found in private and significant public art collections worldwide, from Germany to Japan and the United States and Switzerland, including the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa in Cape Town.