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Tribute to Meque exhibition opens at Gallery Delta

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A TRIBUTE exhibition, titled The Magic of Meque featuring the works of the late Luis Meque, opened at Gallery Delta on Tuesday courtesy of the Embassy of Switzerland.

A TRIBUTE exhibition, titled The Magic of Meque featuring the works of the late Luis Meque, opened at Gallery Delta on Tuesday courtesy of the Embassy of Switzerland.

SIMBARASHE MANHANGO

Running until the end of April, the exhibition presents excerpts of Meque’s paintings, a true reflection of his life and the legacy he left as one of Zimbabwe’s and Africa’s leading painters of the 1990s.

Speaking during the opening of the exhibition, director of cooperation of the Embassy of Switzerland Ulrich Muller pledged to continue investing resources for the growth of the arts industry and humanities.

“This exhibition bears witness to our unwavering support and investment for the growth of the Zimbabwean art industry, specifically for Zimbabwean artists. This move is very important for the preservation of the cultural heritage of Zimbabwe,” Muller said.

“We will continue to explore opportunities in the domain of culture and facilitating contacts and engaging Delta Gallery to facilitate a platform where local artists can showcase their works freely.”

Born in Tete, on the banks of the Zambezi River in Mozambique in 1966, Meque grew up in Beira where he attended school.

He first showed his work at Gallery Delta in the Students’ and Young Artists’ Exhibition in 1989 and afterwards regularly until his death. He had an enormous impact on his contemporaries and on the development of African contemporary painting in the 1990s.

His paintings were figurative and depicted people in the city in their work-related activities and pastimes.

The summation of himself and his work in his short life is best expressed through his well-thought words that: “I am black. I think black and I paint black.”

He died from an Aids-related disease on March 21 1998 at the age of 31. Meque’s death marked the reign of a legacy of his art career that is still being revered up to date.