Perseverance Painting

As they always say like father like son, Nicky Chovuchovu is a 41 year old, followed his father’s footsteps, Norman Chovuchovu. Norman Chovuchovu is a veteran Zimbabwean artist whose generation include the likes of Kingsley Sambo and Charles Fernando to mention but a few. From the 70s working from his studio, the Harare Art Centre Norman trained a number of Zimbabwean artists including myself. Charles Fernando started at the Workshop School established by Frank McEwen at the National Gallery of Rhodesia by then from 1954 – 1974. Charles Fernando later joined the Harare Art Centre and died in the late 90s. Young Nicky used to work on sketches with the late Charles Fernando. Nicky used to come around the centre playing around with paint and brushes and little did we know that one day he will be like his father. His inspiration came from his father Norman who remains an icon to many Zimbabwean artists. After his ‘O’ Levels Nicky took painting seriously by spending time at the Harare Art Centre under the watchful eye of the veteran artists Norman Chovuchovu his father. Like many artists Nicky joined the OK Stores as a sign writer and continued painting and exhibiting his work in and outside Zimbabwe. Cheri Samba the Congolies artist started as a sign writer and his work has been shown in a number of mega exhibitions worldwide. Nicky sees himself as a voice of the voiceless people because his work tales stories from his own environment. By Raphael Chikukwa Kingston University London PhD Researcher: In Curation of International Contemporary Art