Clive Sithole

Clive Sithole (b. 1971) is a contemporary South African artist whose work explores landscapes and vessels of containment. Sithole’s work generally centers on issues of land, race, politics and culture and often incorporates traditional Zulu symbols and techniques to further enhance his work. He was born in Soweto but spent many years during his youth herding cattle in Lesotho. It was during this time that Sithole’s love for clay began as he modelled small animals from clay under the guidance of Alina Masoetsu. Sithole attended school, followed by a stint at the London International School of fashion Design in Johannesburg. In the 1990s Sithole moved to Durban and worked at the Babumbi Clay Project at the Bartel Arts Trust Centre (BAT), where he had a studio for many years. His training included kiln firing, but he remained fascinated by the traditional Zulu methods of pit-firing vessels. He spent time learning from master potter Nesta Nala and worked at the Fine Art Department in Pietermaritzburg as an artist-in-residence under Juliet Armstrong. Sithole has studied under Magdalene Odundo in England and learned how to make the Udu ceramic drum in Nigeria. Sithole has travelled extensively and has collaborated with ceramic artists celebrating the Zulu ceramic tradition. He creates vessels and with sculptural motifs, and sculptural forms that include themes of land, animal life and race, whist engaging cultural tradition and techniques. His work has been featured in numerous publications on South African and Zulu ceramics and is represented in public collections in the United States of America, including The North Carolina Museum of Art, and throughout South Africa. In 2021, Clive Sithole collaborated with the David Krut Workshop. He explored watercolour monotypes with DKW printer Roxy Kaczmarek. The work he created debuted in the 2022 exhibition, Alone of His Kind. He has gone on to be featured in numerous group shows at David Krut Projects.