Biography

Collen Maduwapera was born in 1967 as the third born in a family of eight. Collen did his primary and secondary education at Thorncroft Primary School and Rusununguko Secondary School. Collen was born and grew up in a poor family and through hard work at school he managed to come up with good results in his academics at school and professional qualifications.
In 1990, Collen started sculpting under the tutorship of his mentor, the Late Nicholas Mukomberanwa who was called Elder
Statesman of Zimbabwe Stone Sculpture.
Collen continued part time alongside Mukomberanwa for about 13 years. Half of these years he was working in the Head office of the Zimbabwean Government as a debt collector.
In 1995, the Zimbabwean Government made a voluntary retirement package. This made Collen take up the option to become a full time artist. He still got the inspiration and support from  Mukomberanwa -his mentor and became strong enough to start working on his own studio. Collen is now producing some of his most powerful works. Sharp lines and hard planes are used with confidence along side sweeping curves. Collen is always pushing himself towards new ideas and ways that makes everything more active and bringing life to his art pieces .The curves and lines are reflecting the movement by the flow of either wind, water. He uses the flow of hair and the heads to give more life in his sculptures. His source of inspiration is the respect that he gives to the shape and life that a stone carries.
Collen has exhibited his sculptures in many countries in Africa and Europe.