Artists

Molelekoa Simon Masilo’s distinctive vessels, jugs and teapots, often with distinctive tall, pointed stoppers, are instantly recognisable. Masilo was born near Ficksburg, close to the South African border with Lesotho, and he learned his craft as a boy. He helped his aunt and grandmothers dig clay and watched them as they coiled and burnished a variety of Basotho-style pots for domestic use, while he made carefully-observed clay animals. In 1982, he began attending ceramics workshops at the Katlehong Art Centre, Ekurhuleni (formerly Germiston), and, building on his knowledge of traditional techniques, he developed his own style and adapted the methods he had learned as a child. Unlike Basotho pots which were pit-fired using aloe leaves and cow dung for fuel, Masilo’s urban pots were fired in an electrical kiln and burnished to a sheen with motor oil. He was an expert in mould-making, wheel-throwing and hand-forming techniques and passed his expertise on to students at the Katlehong Art Centre for over 30 years.

Masilo was a finalist in the national Thami Mnyele Fine Arts Awards on numerous occasions and had a solo exhibition at the Fuba Gallery in Newtown in the 1980s. His work is included in the Ekurhuleni City Collection and many other collections locally and overseas.