Our Artists

Printed Textiles

Name of Artist:Canaan Mainoti

Date of Birth:1979- Current

Printed Textiles        2009

This week on Youspace, thirty year old Canaan Mainoti is painter who loves to depict everyday elements of life. His simplified, stylist images are faceless figures that express daily routine. He titles his pieces in an apparent way. ‘Mother and Her Two Kids in a Field’, and ‘Girls Going to Fetch Water with Clay Pots’ leave the viewer without questions about his content.

 The artist is from Raffingora in Mashonaland West. As a child, he attended numerous primary schools and later went to Dzivarasekwa Secondary School in Harare.  However it is in Bulawayo where he began to take his creative ability seriously.   When Mainoti was at the age of 22 his role model and mentor, Kauffman Ndlovu encouraged him to pursue art at his private school. Since then Mainoti has produced several wonderful works of art.

In 2001 soon after meeting Ndlovu, Mainoti came to Harare. In Harare he was a resident artist at Mazvikadai Hotel as a marimba player. His musical talent overshadowed his artist talent for some time, but now Mainoti is more dedicated to painting. He also carves bamboo crafts when he can.

In the future Mainoti would like to open his own creative space that can enable artists to network and exchange ideas.  His advice to upcoming artists is that they should connect with more mature artists so that they can receive informative critics. For those who struggle financially, Mainoti suggests that they do the best they can with the little they have.