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Published by David Zwirner Books
Distributed by Simon & Schuster
Table of Contents
About The Book
Expressive and rich paintings by the Zimbabwean artist Portia Zvavahera—made during a time of intense solitude and collective struggle across the globe
“The rising star’s ethereal work is filled with transcendent imagery that allows the viewer to peek beyond the veil of earthly existence.” — Naomi Rea, Artnet News
In her paintings, Zvavahera gives form to emotions that manifest from other realms and dimensions beyond the domains of everyday life and thought. Her vivid imagery is rooted in the cornerstones of our earthly existence—life and death, pain and pleasure, isolation and connection, and love and loss. This is the first book to explore her work in vivid detail.
Zvavahera draws from a powerful visual vocabulary comprising women, her family, and shape-shifting animals, in scenes both metaphorical and fantastical. In several paintings, she makes use of intricate patterns taken from her own floral or classical Zimbabwean designs. Her particular process of alternating painting and printing results in images that communicate complex emotions in a play of tension and release. The result is a deeply personal body of work that probes the nature of the human condition. As Zvavahera states, “It is me in the paintings.… I can only speak about myself.”
In addition to gorgeous reproductions of seventy-five paintings, including up-close details and installation views, this catalogue also features a new essay by curator Meredith Brown and an interview with the artist by writer Allie Biswas. This catalogue surveys work made since 2017, including her much-lauded contribution to the 2022 Venice Biennale.
“The rising star’s ethereal work is filled with transcendent imagery that allows the viewer to peek beyond the veil of earthly existence.” — Naomi Rea, Artnet News
In her paintings, Zvavahera gives form to emotions that manifest from other realms and dimensions beyond the domains of everyday life and thought. Her vivid imagery is rooted in the cornerstones of our earthly existence—life and death, pain and pleasure, isolation and connection, and love and loss. This is the first book to explore her work in vivid detail.
Zvavahera draws from a powerful visual vocabulary comprising women, her family, and shape-shifting animals, in scenes both metaphorical and fantastical. In several paintings, she makes use of intricate patterns taken from her own floral or classical Zimbabwean designs. Her particular process of alternating painting and printing results in images that communicate complex emotions in a play of tension and release. The result is a deeply personal body of work that probes the nature of the human condition. As Zvavahera states, “It is me in the paintings.… I can only speak about myself.”
In addition to gorgeous reproductions of seventy-five paintings, including up-close details and installation views, this catalogue also features a new essay by curator Meredith Brown and an interview with the artist by writer Allie Biswas. This catalogue surveys work made since 2017, including her much-lauded contribution to the 2022 Venice Biennale.
Product Details
- Publisher: David Zwirner Books (January 10, 2023)
- Length: 112 pages
- ISBN13: 9781644230718
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Raves and Reviews
“Portia Zvavahera’s paintings tend to swallow you up if you stand too close, pulling you into their logic like a vortex to another dimension.”
– Cultured Magazine
“The rising star’s ethereal work is filled with transcendent imagery that allows the viewer to peek beyond the veil of earthly existence.”
– Artnet News
“Although Zvavahera draws a lot from her spiritual and religious practice, her work does not grandstand like what she calls the “false prophets who come to you and say all these crazy things and want money.” Instead, it lingers in the everyday and in the domestic space, invoking issues of troubled and troubling intimacies.”
– Artforum
“Harare-based artist Portia Zvavahera paints life size characters in bold and dramatic configurations, their physical and emotional strain almost palpable on the surface of her large canvases.”
– Bomb Magazine
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High Resolution Images
- Book Cover Image (jpg): Portia Zvavahera Hardcover 9781644230718
