Onias was born on 23 February 1978 in Rusape, Zimbabwe, the second born son of the late Solomon Mupumha in a family of eight. He completed his O-Levels in 1995 and moved to Harare in 1997.
In Harare, his uncle Richard Mupumha encouraged Onias to try stone sculpture, under his guidance. Richard is a well-established artist with many international patrons. Onias started doing his own sculptures in June 1999 and has since sold work to collectors from Germany, Britain, USA, Holland, Australia and South Africa.
Onias' style is graceful and organic with fluid uncomplicated lines, reflecting the beauty of natural design. All his pieces are finished with the utmost care and that attention to detail, combined with the hardest stones, make his stylised sculptures the highest quality. He is our most popular artist.
Onias and his brother Itayi are both featured in the Guruve exhibition 2003. The brothers have each established a distinctive personal style, separate from the work of their more famous uncle. They are two of Guruve's most popular and talented young artists, and are highly likely to achieve recognition outside Zimbabwe within a very few years.