​Contemporary South African Art

Madzikatire, Shephard 

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Shephard Madzikatire was born in 1970 in Rusape the capitol of Manicaland Province of Zimbabwe. His interest in the arts started when he was still in primary school. He drew and painted numerous portraits of fellow students and staff which were often dis­played around the school. Shephard's first exposure to three-dimensional work was through moulding clay, which he also learned in primary school. 

By the time Shephard started his secondary education at St. Faith Mission School in Rusape he was experimenting with wood carving. He was inspired by South African artist Job Kekana's emotive wooden sculptures which are still very much sought after today. When he finished school his life took off in a new direction. 

In 1991 Shephard moved to Chitungwiza to stay with his cousin Moses Masaya (1949- 1995), one of the most prominent first-generation Zimbabwean stone sculptors. Shephard's two-year apprenticeship with Moses involved a good deal of one-on-one mentoring. He learned all the skills and techniques involved in using the different tools and working on the variety of beautiful stones available to sculptors in Zimbabwe. Shephard showed enormous talent from the outset. His creative ability and technical proficiency soon set him apart. 

In 1993 Shephard was invited to participate in his first group exhibition at the famous Yorkshire Sculpture Park in the UK. He was just 23 years old. Since then his work has been exhibited in numerous sculpture parks and galleries in SWeden, Germany, The Netherlands, the UK, Spain, Mozambique, Austria and the US. 

In 2009 Shephard was invited to teach sculpting workshops in Germany. He has re­turned most years since then to mentor both new and professional carvers. 
His sculptures tum towards more abstract and cubist forms: "My subjects are often hu­man and animal images which I carve to convey their relationship to African values, be they social, cultural or traditional beliefs. In most of my creations I get influenced by the shape of the stone but sometimes I have to change the whole stone to suit my feelings or my state of mind,· Shephard explains. 

In addition to the exhibitions Shephard has participated in internationally, his distinctive work has also sold to galleries across Europe and Asia. 
ZimArt started to represent Shephard in Canada in 2020. 

www.zimart.com