co-op joburg

To mark Kudzanai Chiurai’s dOCUMENTA13 debut, CO-OP is currently showing a new edition of posters together with a selection of specially customised posters by the artist.

The show entitled Conflict Resolution grapples with the issue of conflict in the contemporary moment in Africa. He says “The spaces within which conflict has been taking place vary to
the extent of our own understanding of what defines conflict. Our understanding of resolution is therefore also brought to the fore as we question the validity and nature of force used in
our attempts at peace.”

The new series consists of seven posters.

ABOUT KUDZANAI CHIURAI

Born in 1981 in Zimbabwe, Kudzanai Chiurai is an internationally acclaimed young artist now living and working in South Africa. He was the first black student to graduate with a BA Fine Art from the University of Pretoria.

Regarded as part of the “born free” generation in Zimbabwe – born one year after the country’s independence from Rhodesia – Chiurai’s early work focused on the political, economic and social strife in his homeland. Chiurai consequentially began to tackle some of the most pertinent issues facing southern Africa such as xenophobia, displacement and black empowerment. Boldly stenciled figures and anonymous text provide running commentary, leading viewers on a journey through his intricately painted turn-of-the century buildings, bustling streets and congested transit systems.

Chiurai has participated in a number of local and international group exhibitions, including the Dakar Biennale, Senegal; Africa Now, a travelling exhibition in Scandinavia; as well as New Painting, a local travelling exhibition in 2006. The Goodman Gallery has exhibited his recent work at Paris Photo 2009, the 2010 Armory fair in New York, and Art Basel Miami Beach 2009 and 2010. His work featured on two major international exhibitions in 2011: Figures & Fictions: Contemporary South African Photography at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and Impressions from South Africa, 1965 to Now at the Museum of Modern Art in New York, which has recently acquired Chiurai’s work for their collection.

more about the artist