Masonwabe Ntloko

MASONWABE NTLOKO (B. 1996) IS A VISIONARY VISUAL ARTIST WHOSE WORK IS DEEPLY ROOTED IN THE VIBRANT AND ANCIENT XHOSA CULTURE. THROUGH HIS EXCEPTIONAL TALENT AND CREATIVE EXPRESSION, HE HAS BUILT A VISUAL LANGUAGE THAT CAPTIVATES AUDIENCES WORLDWIDE, BRIDGING THE GAP BETWEEN TRADITION AND CONTEMPORARY ART.BORN AND RAISED IN THE EASTERN CAPE OF SOUTH AFRICA, NTLOKO WAS PASSIONATELY EXPOSED TO THE RICH CULTURAL HERITAGE OF THE XHOSA PEOPLE FROM A YOUNG AGE. SURROUNDED BY THE TRADITIONAL RITUALS, CEREMONIES, AND FOLKLORE, HE BECAME ENCHANTED WITH THE BEAUTY AND SYMBOLISM ENCOMPASSED WITHIN THESE ANCIENT CUSTOMS. THIS EARLY IMMERSION LAID THE FOUNDATION FOR HIS ARTISTIC JOURNEY, AS HE VOWED TO HONOR AND CELEBRATE HIS HERITAGE THROUGH HIS INNOVATIVE WORKS.
NTLOKO'S ART IS A MESMERIZING BLEND OF VIVID COLORS, INTRICATE PATTERNS, AND CAPTIVATING MOTIFS, EACH CAREFULLY SELECTED TO REPRESENT DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF XHOSA CULTURE. FROM THE BOLD GEOMETRIC SHAPES THAT PAY HOMAGE TO ANCESTRAL SYMBOLS, TO THE DELICATE GEOMETRIC PRINT. THAT MIMIC THE FLOW OF TRADITIONAL XHOSA BEADWORK, HIS ART HARMONIOUSLY INTERTWINES TRADITION AND MODERNITY.
WHEN MASONWABE WAS A STUDENT AT THE NELSON MANDELA UNIVERSITY (GRAD 2018), HE RECEIVED AN OPPORTUNITY TO IN...

Ndip in Textile Design and Technology from the Nelson Mandela University

ILIFA LETHU 2023
ILISO LO MOYA 2023