RICHARD MTEKI

Richard Mteki was born in Harare, Zimbabwe in 1947. Following his primary education he studied at the Nyarutsetso Art Center, founded by the late Cannon Paterson. It was here that Mteki began to sculpt full-time. Inspired by the work which was being produced at the Workshop School of the National Gallery, Mteki joined Frank McEwen and the first generation group of sculptors at the National Gallery. Following McEwen’s resignation in 1973, Mteki has worked independently for over 40 years.

Mteki’s highly prized sculpture has been commissioned for state buildings in Zimbabwe and as gifts for visiting foreign dignitaries. In 1986 Mteki was commissioned by the Zimbabwean Givernment to create a piece for the National Sports Stadium in Harare. In 1982 one of his pieces was selected as the gift to be presented to the Nigerian head of state by President Mugabe on his official visit to that country. In 1984 the Government  once again selected  Mteki’s work, on this occasion the piece was presented to the late Rajiv Gandhi on the opening of the Non-Aligned Movement Summit in Harare.

His work has been included in major international exhibitions, including the “Sculpture Contemporaines du Zimbabwe” at the Musée National des Arts Africains et Oceaniens, Paris, in 1990; in the “Sten Skulptur Fran Zimbabwe” exhibition at the Millesgarden Museum in Sweden in 1990; in the Perth and Sydney, Australia exhibitions “Soul in Stone” in 1986; and in the “Retrospective Exhibition of Shona Sculpture”, Zimbabwe House, London, in 1981.