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Boniface Chimedza Arts Correspondent
Award-winning visual artist and sculptor Kudakwashe Prosper Madamombe has opened up about his artistic career and personal life, saying he gets his artistic and creative inspiration from his parents, his ancestors and from God.

Madamombe, who scooped the first prize in the 2017 Artistic Africa Brock Sculpture Awards competition, also won the Artistic Africa Brock Grand Master Awards in the same competition which was held at Chitungwiza Arts Centre.

The prestigious award comprised of $1 000 cash, including a certificate given by the Brock Family, Amanda and Rob Brock, the American art collectors who sponsored the 2017 Artistic Africa Awards.

“I don’t usually establish my style, but it is in my bloodline, for instance the almighty, my ancestors and my mum, in art these are my strength and pillars. When I am doing art, I have these positive energies, which enlighten me to express my vibrations to the world.

“This explains why I got the first prize in the 2017 Artistic Africa Brock Sculpture Awards competition,” said Madamombe.

Madamombe believes that what makes his art unique is the controversy that he infuses into his work, creating thought provoking interpretations of his artworks.

“I have come to an understanding that unless there is controversy, then art ceases to be art. Because of my art, I have been nicknamed Black Superman or Black Michelangelo,” he said.

One of his famous award-winning pieces is the one metre tall springstone sculpture entitled ‘The World Boss’, which weighs 150kgs.

The sculpture portrays a wealthy man wearing an extravagantly designed suit, branded with an American dollar sign label.

“It has always been my dream to go to America because I made it especially for America. My name is shining in the doors and corridors of American Museums,” Madamombe said.

Zimbabwe is renowned for producing some of the best stone sculptures in the world.

Born Kudakwashe Prosper Madamombe in Harare, Zimbabwe, he started sculpting at a tender age of four years, under the instructive influence of his father.

He did his primary education at Widdicombe Primary School and proceeded to Phoenix College for his secondary education.

“Art runs in the family. I learnt the trade from the great masters of all time, my parents, who were both artists.

“My first sculpture was a bull which I did at the age of four years and during that time I did a plethora of animal work,” said the sculptor.

At that tender age, Madamombe was working on figures, portraits and shapes and he also I received significant awards for being one of the best painters.

To date, the artist has exhibited his works in South Africa, Turkey, Cuba, Libya, Mozambique, Nigeria, Spain, Belgium and France.

Kudakwashe is married to Concelia, who is a lawyer and they have two children.

“My inspiration comes from many aspects of reality and the funniest things that I observe in life. The life of the rich and the poor.

Their views and values are always different and contrasting. I value the physical aspects of life, spiritual and mental nature of human beings,” said Madamombe.

Madamombe is also a founder of Royal Heavens Trust, founded in 2010, which he established to support the underprivileged and orphans.

In 2017, Madamombe formed Future Generations, an apolitical, nonprofit making organisation that is focused on empowering the youths.

Madamombe is currently compiling two books, one on his late mother Coleen Madamombe; a renowned visual artist and another on his personal life in the arts.