David Zwirner
In this review, Zvavahera is also seen as one of a growing number of Black artists, such as Genesis Tremaine, placing religion – Christianity, in particular – at the center of their work; this thereby puts in question the art world’s institutional secularism (or “art as religion’) of Western inheritance.
Zimbabwe-based artist Portia Zvavahera asks, ‘Where do we go when we are dreaming?’ In her recent paintings at David Zwirner on 19th Street, the answer is a world of spiritual struggle and foretold futures. She draws at night to capture her experiences. She talks about dreams with her mother and grandmother. She prays for meaning. Painting is for Zvavahera a way to walk forward in her faith and make sense of realities that are only sensed in sleep.
Portia Zvavahera
“Ndakaoneswa murima“
David Zwirner
525 West 19th Street
4 November – 17 December, 2021