Zimbabwean painter Misheck Masamvu (b. 1980, Zimbabwe) is widely regarded as one of the leading figures of the Harare painting school. Trained in Germany, Masamvu continues to live and work in Zimbabwe which provides rich inspiration for his gestural painting.

Not Enough Slices of the Bread (2022) form part of Masamvu’s latest body of work where he combines striking colour with a distinct expressionist style to create tumultuous landscapes, representing the confessional vulnerability at the heart of his practice. These works see the artist lean towards abstraction through frenetic mark-making, allowing the paint to convey his fears, anxieties and dreams. The irregular, erratic swipes of paint and chaotic compositions mimic the artist’s desire to let emotions manifest without being expressed through recognisable forms.

Masamvu’s works are held in collections across the globe including the Khouri Art Foundation, Dubai; Perez Art Museum, Miami; Pigozzi Collection, Geneva; Taguchi Art Collection, Tokyo; X Museum, Beijing; and Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town.

Notable solo and group exhibitions include Inside Out, Fondation Grandpour l’Art, Geneva (2022); Talk to me while I’m eating, Goodman Gallery, London (2021); Witness: Afro Perspectives, El Espacio 23, Miami (2020); Allied with Power: African and African Diaspora Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection, Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami (2020); and Two Together, Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town (2020).

Museum exhibitions and biennales include The ‘t’ is silent, 8th Biennial of Painting, Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens, Sint-Martens-Latem (2022); STILL ALIVE, 5th Aichi Triennale, Aichi (2022), NIRIN, 22nd Sydney Biennale, Sydney (2020), the 32nd Bienal de São Paulo (2016) and his international debut at Zimbabwe’s inaugural Pavilion at the 54th Venice Biennale (2011).