Richard Mteki
A first generation sculptor, Richard Mteki was born in 1947 in Harare, where his brother Boira Mteki became an established sculptor. Boira was an influence upon Richard in terms of style and form. At Primary School Richard Mteki was a good painter and an expert in technical drawing. His grasp of geometry has led him to make sculpture which has sharp lines and a sense of symmetry.
He attended Nyartutsese Art School established by the late Canon Paterson, a pioneer in the promotion of indigenous art in Zimbabwe.To the Mteki family- sculpture runs in the blood and Richard Mteki feels it is an inherited talent from his forefathers- his sons Bryn, Plamer and Tom are now sculptors. Richard Mteki joined the Workshop School of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe –established by the first Director Frank McEwen. Here Mteki was encouraged to be a sculptor of originality and highly personal expression.
His sculptures are generally peaceful, they do not disturb but rather leave the viewer calm and there is a gentle spiritual presence about his work. His pieces are usually small and compact but their messages are on a larger scale. The power of his lines is renowned. His sculptures are mainly centered on the beliefs of the Shona people, though he sometimes makes animals and birds with a well defined style.
“I am guided by the shape of the raw stone; I choose to work with the stone rather dictating my will upon it.” He feels that a sculptor should cherish his or her natural environment; he is a dedicated conservationist, concerned about the plight of endangered species. He participated in the Rhino Watch exhibition in 1994 and donated goods towards the Conservation Fund.
Mteki is driven by a force from the past, the force that built stone houses without bricks and mortar, and the force that constructed the empire where the Great Zimbabwe birds are found. “The Zimbabwe Bird (1986) is a masterpiece which lightly rests on its huge base as if preparing to fly, all beak and powerful talons, a bird of prey ready to claw its way though the sky. He was commissioned by the Government to create a piece for the National Sports Stadium. Besides this piece he has made sculptures which were given as gifts to the Nigerian President in 1982, the late Rajit Ghandi by the then Prime Minister Robert Mugabe.
To Richard Mteki people must live together and not be underlined by ethnic differences, and xenophobic tendencies, the world should in fact and indeed be one. “The Stork Family”. (1997) depicts the unity of the birds which fly and endure all weather together. The piece relays a message after World War II, after the Cold War, the Balkan War
and beyond.
In 1994 he was invited to join the Artists Residency Program at Chapungu Sculpture Park, Zimbabwe, as an appreciation of his contribution to the arts of Zimbabwe. He believes that artists should not be artists for the sake of financial rewards, but as a sacrifice to serve the community, their environment and the world. Sculpture does not emerge from a vacuum, but from people’s values, hopes and aspirations.
Selected Exhibitions
• Annual Exhibition, National Gallery of Zimbabwe
• Rhodesian Sculptures SA Association of Arts Gallery, Pretoria, SA
• Nedlaw Sculpture Exhibition, National Gallery of Zimbabwe
• Contemporary Shona Sculpture Exhibition, Sydney Australia
• Irving Sculpture Gallery, Sydney Australia
• Shona Sculpture Instituto Italo Africa, Rome, Italy
1989 Man in Spirit, the Rbank, Hong Kong