The contributor of this piece says ”This artist truly epitomises the way I feel about colour and freedom with his exuberance. I do hope, one day, I could also convey sheer joy with my artwork”

Makiwa Mutomba (born 1976 in Zimbabwe) showed an excellent ability to draw at an early age. It was not until his third year at university in 1999 where he was studying Electronics Engineering that he quit studies and started painting pictures for a living. Moving from Bulawayo to Harare, which is the commercial capital of the country, and then on to the resort town of Victoria falls, where he sold miniature paintings at the roadside to tourists (hanging paintings from tree branches). It was at this time that Makiwa developed a love for the knife as a painting tool. Makiwa is the founder and Managing Director of Makiwa Galleries, which comprises of 4 Galleries in Durban, Pretoria, Franschhoek, and Hermanus. Most of his art is sold through Makiwa Galleries to art collectors in South Africa and all over the world.

ARTIST’S STATEMENT: “I believe a true work of art has a life and a soul. It is for posterity. Human as I am, I can only attempt to create it, I never quite succeed. For true art is not human, but divine. Nevertheless, it is that quest for a masterpiece that makes me who I am. That never-ending search for the perfect picture, the definitive line, the ultimate poem, and above all, the truth. For the truth is more valuable than what we think we know. I do not make political or religious statements with my art. I paint pictures to give hope, joy, and meaning to the lives of those who see them. For beauty, I believe, is abounding in all creation. Even the humble, lowly, down-trodden and dirty have a beautiful story to tell. I will strive to show beauty where there is no beauty, and to show colour where there is only black and white.”