Artists

Siyabonga Mabaso was born in 1985 in the KZN Midlands town of Mooi River and completed his education in 2006. Having studied art at school, he had a substantial portfolio of drawings and paintings when he met Fée Halsted, founder of Ardmore Ceramic Art. Halsted was impressed by his talent and described Mabaso as "a true artist and super talented". He joined Ardmore as a painter in 2007, and within weeks, his work was included in the 'Cats of the World' exhibition at Charles Greig Jewellers in Johannesburg and at the Groote Schuur exhibition in Cape Town in 2008. His Leopard Urn was purchased by the first lady, Zanele Mbeki. Mabaso closely observes nature and paints realistically, expertly capturing nuances of light and tone and the subtleties of feathers and fur. He brings exotic elegance, sophisticated natural realism and fine detail to his pieces, often incorporating a black background, reminiscent of French painter Henri Rousseau. Mabaso excels both as a painter and sculptor and enjoys working alongside painter, Wiseman Ndlovu. He also assists and teaches others, and is a true entrepreneur, selling and exhibiting paintings on canvas that he paints in his spare time. In 2015, Mabaso produced a number of works for the Ardmore masterworks collection, and in 2016 for the 'Great Zambezi' exhibition, which celebrated Ardmore's collaboration with Hermès.