Joe Mutasa

Joe Mutasa was born in Rusape in 1964 and insists that he has had his artistic instinct from the time he was born. Mutasa had no formal training as a sculptor unlike most western artists. He is a brilliant creator whose invaluable insight and dedication to art have been noteworthy. His partnership with Mystery in Stone promises to benefit the art world as this has given him the opportunity to freely explore his mind and contribute intellectually to the world of art. He is one of the most sought after sculptors in the world because of the plethora of insight he brings to his own creative endeavors.

Mutasa grew up in Rusape in a rural setting and in his early days he discovered that he was rather talented at making clay models as well as wooden sculptures and others carved from soapstone. In his school days Mutasa was the best painter at primary school and even when he was in the junior grades he used to draw maps for the children in the final year of primary school, some of his maps of the world were so accurate and well presented that they are still shown and used. Art is something familiar to his family, his brother Gregory received a diploma in the arts and is an artist in his own right.

After secondary school Mutasa pursued a diploma in public relations but he soon made the decision that he did not want to work for anyone and would rather invest his natural abilities to work independently and on his own terms and standards. With art Mutasa saw no boundaries and this suited his very independent and free character. He became serious as an artist between 1984 and 1985. Though he was working in stone it was more of fine arts with very distinct facial features on his pieces.

Identity Etched in Stones - After some time Mutasa moved away from the fine arts as he was finding it monotonous and mundane. In 1986 he began working with Samson Kuvengurwa and other outstanding Second Generation artists at Chapungu Galleries. It was then that he began to move into a freer form of sculpting and began to see something different in stones.

Mutasa places value on the original finish and all his pieces are marked by determination and patience. His persistence with working with stone enables him to go into the stone and find his own movement and rhythm. All this is done by hand including the finish so there is a need to be very careful, if the rhythmic system is lost, there is the possibly of losing the movement. Because Mutasa works with tall, slender pieces there is always the danger that they will break and fall apart. Mutasa is also an interesting artist because he is not afraid to break away from his familiar challenges; when you look at his diverse themes you may mistakenly assume that there are other features and forms that are not ‘Joe Mutasa’ yet they are probably more labored over and beloved by the artist than those that love his more familiar pieces. This is not a change of style but an _expression of the bottomless reaches of the human psyche and soul.

Myriad of Stones and Themes - For his elegant forms Mutasa uses springstone but he also uses verdite, lapidolite, limestone, marble and granite. He enjoys working on hard stones because they appreciate with time, whereas the softer stones depreciate and are easily vandalized. One of his most remarkable expressions is a granite piece called ‘Pride’.

Pride – This magnificent 1.8 meter piece is possibly one of the most impressive and interesting pieces that Mutasa has in his collection. This lovely piece is made of granite, second to diamond in hardness and sculpted by hand. Mutasa stands alone as the most versatile sculptor in terms of the diverse stones he works on. The theme is one of pride; it is the pride of a young woman about to get married. Her _expression says that she is ready for ‘Mr. Right’. Yet she is proud to still be single and a woman. Mutasa was inspired to work in granite when he visited Japan and realised that there were some sculptors there using granitite imported from Zimbabwe. Mutasa finds granite challenging and it took him half a year to complete working part time on the piece. Because granite is so enduring this is certainly a permanent piece.

Spiritually Together – This is possibly the most introspective and soul seeking piece that Joe has in his collection. It is a family theme with a mother and her young child in a permanent embrace. The face of the mother is turned upward to the left symbolising her absence in body but her embrace and gaze also illustrate her presence in spirit. There is a band of white stone that laces this pair and this is symbolic of the light of the mother’s love flooding her child and emanating from her undying commitment as well as the child’s unconditional love. The mother is saying, in Mutasa’s own words, ‘I am not there but we are together’. The hollow where the mother’s heart is symbolizes the hollowness of death. The death in this piece draws attention to the loss suffered by victims of HIV and Aids and those they leave behind, especially children; yet it also brings our attention to other illnesses suffered by members within the community.

During his youth, Mutasa spent a considerable amount of time with his mother and he remains appreciative of these early years. In his female forms Mutasa portrays something familiar, something he has appreciates and understands. He has a strong desire to have his family close and together, even the family that he had in his childhood and he advises others to seek something similar for themselves. An excellent artistic work, which illustrates some of these symbolisms in his art and his love of the family theme and female role, is a piece called ‘Everlasting Love’. This _expression is one more easily associated with Mutasa’s art. It is a tall slender feature in the family theme that stands well above the 2-meter mark. The female form is used here to tell the story of a single mother who has all the hope and confidence in the child she is holding in her arms. They are struggling to survive, yet she is still clinging to her child and holding him close to her with a look of pride mixed with concern.

Mutasa has worked on and off with Chapungu including major exhibitions. With Mystery in Stone Mutasa sees himself as reaching greater heights and is able to educate people about the nature of the art he creates. As he aims higher in his artistic endeavors he believes that his work has to be perfect because he wants to leave an enduring hallmark with which art lovers can identify with.
Aspirations of a Master - Mutasa, as noted above prefers to work on larger stones and directs the movement and theme as he sees fit, this is where the artistic feel is and it is something very natural to him. Mutasa does not force the stone to yield completely, there are times he will use the natural movement within the stone to achieve a desired result. As soon as the image in his mind develops he attempts to create it three dimensionally by touch, artistic feel and _expression which is his articulation of what the piece should be saying within the set theme.
Mutasa has permanent collectd pieces in different locations all over the world. These include (see spelling on internet refs). He has also had a variety of different exhibitions including Denver Colorado, Ohio and Utah in the USA.

1. This piece is written by Cleopatra Magwaro for Mystery In Stone and is based on an interview with the Artist.