Township Living

A Contemporary South African Artist (SA 1992 – )

Nthando was born in 1992 in Umlazi, KZN. He has one sibling and was raised by their grandmother, as his mother passed away when he was very young. They moved to Johannesburg when he was 12 and that is when he fell in love with art. Most of the materials he used then were what his grandmother used when designing traditional clothing.

He started off by just copying pictures from newspapers and magazines. The Zapiro cartoons remain a favourite and inspired his pen drawings. He worked in a car wash to help support his grandmother and had little drawing time. Nthando became a full-time artist some 12 years ago with the help of a gallery that believed in him and he has been expanding his art horizons ever since.

During the 2013 “Black Like Us” exhibition, he was nominated as the best newcomer in the watercolour category. Nthando exhibits in various galleries in Johannesburg, and his work has been sold to numerous foreign collectors.