Artist Database

Self-taught artist Sipho Ndlovu, was born in Alexandra township, Johannesburg in 1968. His mother was a domestic worker and he was encouraged to paint and draw while passing the hours of boredom waiting for his mother to finish work.

During the 1980s, he exhibited in the street outside the Johannesburg Sun Hotel in Smal Street. Bridgette Read spotted his talent and this led to his first exhibition at the Sanderling Gallery in 1988. A year later he had his first solo exhibition at the Shell House Art Gallery.

In 1990 Ndlovu moved to Cape Town where he developed his unique technique of painting boxes in a free flow organic style. The boxes remind him of wooden crates from bygone days and he says, “I am a collector of memories and moments”. His depiction and love of cattle comes from his ancestors and the Zulu tradition of measuring wealth in cattle.

He has participated in many exhibitions and his work is found in international collections. He is currently most interested in the world around him, painting landscapes and people that capture his imagination