The work of Portia Zvavahera (b. 1985, Harare, Zimbabwe) starts with dreams. From harrowing nightmares to protective comforts, Zvavahera’s dreams are sources for her transcendent painting practice she compares to an act of worship. “Transferring the energy of my dreams into my paintings has helped me heal myself,” the artist notes, “and remove the negative energy from my nightmares.” Throughout her work, Zvavahera engages deeply with the Indigenous Shona and African Pentecostal faith traditions in which she was raised, illuminating the centrality of spirits and revelation to both belief systems. The artist frequently titles her artworks in Shona, the language in which she thinks, dreams, and prays. This exhibition, Zvavahera’s first solo museum exhibition in the United States, features a suite of colorful paintings centered on the animals that populate her pictorial world, where bulls, snakes, rats, and owls represent mysterious forces and potential threats. Zvavahera’s painting practice not only makes visible the hidden battles of her dreams, it is a critical front on which these battles are waged.
One of southern Africa’s leading contemporary artists, Zvavahera began experimenting as a student with what would become her singular approach. During her training, Zvavahera started to incorporate printmaking techniques into her paintings with the encouragement of her teacher, Chikonzero Chazunguza. Zvavahera’s canvases frequently feature veil-like, iterative markings made with batik wax, cardboard stencils, delicate lace, and palm fronds from her garden that result in a dazzling array of atmospheric textures. Reflecting the artist’s expansive knowledge of art history, her scenes recall the angels and demons of medieval European devotional art, the vibrant patterns of Zimbabwean textile designs, and the strong tradition of printmaking in Zimbabwe. Zvavahera communicates the intimate world of her dreams through an experimental painting practice fueled by a profound belief in the importance of the sacred in contemporary life.
