It is my delight to publish this dazzling gallery of images from THE STARS ARE BRIGHT, an exhibition of artists from Zimbabwe at The Theatre Courtyard Green Rooms, 36 Bateman’s Row, EC2A 3HH until 31st October
A revelatory collection of over six hundred paintings by young African artists of the nineteen-forties was discovered in St Michael & All Angels’ Church in Shoreditch in 1979 and seventy-five are now on display at a gallery nearby.
The origin of these pictures is the Cyrene Mission School in Matabeleland, set up by Ned Paterson in 1938. Paterson studied at the Central School of Art before joining the priesthood in Africa, where he encouraged his pupils to paint freely and create personal representations of their immediate world.
A visit from the Queen Mother in 1947 shone light onto this work and in 1949 a show of paintings from the school opened at the Royal Society of Painters in Watercolour in London to great success. The acclaimed exhibition toured internationally with works acquired by the Royal Collection and the Smithsonian. Then the Cyrene Collection of paintings were put in store in Shoreditch and forgotten until they were acquired in 2018 by the Belvedere Trust who have organised the new exhibition.
Unseen since they were first exhibited, these paintings comprise a compelling and exuberant vision of the world. As remarkable for their abstract painterly qualities as for their documentary record, they bear vivid testament to the creative potential that can be unlocked by an inspirational teacher.
Story of My Life by Basil Mazibuko, 1947
The Careless Village by Basil Mazibuko, 1947
The Bent Tree by Mhletshwa Msidazi, 1946
Artist Christopher Msindazi, 1945
Artist Simon Hlabate
The Death Of Ananias & Sapphira by Samuel Songo, 1947
The Lonely Man by Ananias Mjuru, 1946
The Draught of the Fishes by Timothy Dhlodhlo
The First Day of Spring by Lever Matiwaza, 1946
Artist Tommy Augustine
The Good Shepherd by Livingstone Sango, 1945
The Raiders by Samuel Menaisi, 1947
Artist Moses Johuma
Tree Flowers by Barnabus Chiponza
Rocks & Flowers by W Nyatti, 1945
Village Horse & Trader by unknown artist
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