Seductively bright colours for the broken promises of a better future, advertised but never delivered.
Julio Rizhi (b. 1991, Mbare, Harare, Zimbabwe) is a contemporary sculptor known for his dystopic, vibrantly coloured constructions of molten discarded plastics, mesh wire and spray paint. Trained at the Visual Art Studio of the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, he developed his experimental practice at Chinembiri Studios in Mbare, alongside leading new-generation Zimbabwean artists such as Gresham Tapiwa Nyaude, Moffat Takadiwa and Wycliffe Mundopa. Deeply embedded in the life of the city, his darkly humoured work connects consumption to its outcomes, addressing environmental decay and the social costs of high-density living, from youth unemployment to addiction. He has exhibited with First Floor Gallery Harare, at Simchowitz, Los Angeles, Ever Gold Projects, San Francisco, and MACAAL, Marrakech, and at fairs including Investec Cape Town, Untitled Miami Beach and 1-54. He lives and works in Harare.