Nicholas Mukomberanwa

Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Nicholas Mukomberanwa
Born	Obert Matafi 1940 (1940) Buhera District, Rhodesia (today Zimbabwe)
Died	12 November 2000 (2000-11-13) Harare, Zimbabwe
Nationality	Zimbabwean
Education	Serima Mission, Masvingo Province and informally
Known for	Sculpture
Movement	Shona sculpture
Awards	Winner, Nedlaw award, 1989

Nicholas Mukomberanwa (1940 - 12 November 2002) was a Zimbabwean sculptor and art teacher. He was among the most famous products of the Workshop School at the National Gallery of Zimbabwe and an art mentor and teacher to the Mukomberanwa Family of sculptors. His work has been exhibited in galleries around the world and he remains one of Zimbabwe's most famous artists.

Mukomberanwa was born in the Buhera District of the Manicaland Province in 1940. He was named Obert Matafi, first-born son of his father Marakia’s second wife Chihute, who died when Obert was two years old. From then on he was brought up by Marakia’s first wife Maiguru. In 1958 at the St Benedicts Mission, Obert was baptised Nicholas and took the surname Mukomberanwa in honour of an ancestor.

Nicholas attended Zvishavani Primary School while his father worked at the nearby King Asbestos Mines. Art was not taught at school but by the time he was 15 Nicholas had produced his first sculpture in clay. By the age of 17 he was accepted at St Benedicts Mission, Chiendambuya, where he was recognised as skilled in painting and drawing and so was encouraged to move to the Serima Mission, Masvingo Province. There, Father Groeber encouraged sculpting and the craft of woodcarving and Nicholas encountered a blend of traditional Christian iconography and tribal African pieces.

Mukomberanwa was heavily influenced by the drawing, patterning, and carving lessons he learned from Groeber and the school's art teacher Cornelius Manguma. Mukomberanwa produced his first art works while at the school, producing six carvings for the Serima church. These include four cement angels in the tower, as well as two wood angels for the chapel.

However, after a productive year at Serima, Mukomberanwa was expelled and moved to Salisbury (now Harare), taking a job as an officer in the British South Africa Police, where he remained for 15 years (1962–76). Even though his year at Serima was brief, his style was decisively shaped by his experiences there. His work was typically architectural, carved on only one side. Additionally, in his later geometric phases, he relied heavily on patterning learned at Serima.