Fine Art Meets Fine Wine: Craig Masters Retrospective Exhibition at La RicMal Wine Emporium

Fine art and fine wine will come together at La RicMal Wine Emporium on Saturday, 14 November, for a retrospective exhibition celebrating the life and work of the late Cape Town visual artist Craig Masters. Taking place from 4pm to 8pm, the exhibition invites visitors to experience Masters’ artworks in a setting that brings together creative expression, conversation and the enjoyment of quality wine.
The exhibition will be held at Shop G04, Makers Landing, at the V&A Waterfront and visitors are welcome to attend free of charge.

Craig Stewart Masters, who passed away in 2021, was born in Cape Town in 1963 and had been making art since the 1980s. With his profile indexed by the Africa South Art Initiative (ASAI), Masters, who was involved with the Cape Flats Art Group, worked as a fine artist and graphic designer.
His paintings depict people and social scenes within landscapes, ranging from urban and rural environments to dreamlike and otherworldly settings.
Masters believed that “imagination is the true powerhouse of the mind”. That belief certainly comes through in his paintings that have a distinctive style within the South African art scene.

Artist, Educator and Community Activist

Craig Masters studied Fine Art and Graphic Design at Battswood Training College, receiving his diploma in 1984. His creative practice also extended into animation, illustration and mural work. In 2010, he won first prize at the One Minute Awards in Amsterdam for his animation The Lion and the Elephant. He also contributed to a mural project at the District Six Museum in 1996 and coordinated artwork for the museum during the 1995 visit by then United States Vice President Al Gore.

His contribution extended beyond his own artistic practice. Masters volunteered as a visual arts teacher at Blackheath Primary School in 1991 and later taught visual arts through Build a Better Society (BABS) in Cape Town.

Highly respected by his peers, and art lovers alike, Masters, whom his son Roscoe Masters describes as having had “a bit of an activist streak”, was very involved in community projects in areas like Athlone and Mitchells Plain.

Honouring the Craig Masters Legacy

Roscoe Masters, himself a working visual artist, designer and an arts educator, says that the many decades of outreach work by Craig Masters has left an indelible mark on many young people.
It was always important to Masters that more people from his own community could have access to his work.
“His community exhibitions and the community screenings of his short films at venues like the Joseph Stone Auditorium, were intended to show the youth what was possible if one remained honest and true to yourself.”

“This exhibition is important for us as a family, but it is also important that beyond the Cape Town and South African arts community, more people recognise that Craig Masters persevered through an era of Apartheid suppression of Artists of Colour.”

“It was literally impossible for an artist from a Coloured community to make a living in that era, but… There was only one Craig Stewart Masters, and, against all odds, he managed to continue doing what he loved until the very end”

Art, Wine and a Waterfront Setting

The Craig Masters Retrospective Art Exhibition offers an opportunity to revisit the work of an artist whose paintings explored people, social settings and imagined worlds. It is also a chance to appreciate the range of creative disciplines in which he worked, from fine art and graphic design to animation.

Situated at Makers Landing at the V&A Waterfront’s Cruise Terminal, La RicMal Wine Emporium provides a relaxed setting with views across the Atlantic Ocean. The Emporium showcases more than 80 wines, including the La RicMal Supreme and Lerato ranges, while also being a purveyor of  French Champagnes, alongside Cap Classiques and Whiskies.
The combination of art, wine and waterfront surroundings provides a distinctive setting for an occasion celebrating Masters’ work.

Malcolm Green, CEO of La RicMal Wines, says that when they initiated their Wine Emporium at Makers Landing, it was important that it develops into a space that celebrates the creative arts.
“As a Black-owned wine brand, we at La RicMal value the opportunity to celebrate the lagacy of a renowned such as the late Craig Masters who is from a previously disadvantaged community.”

The Craig Masters Retrospective Art Exhibition takes place on Saturday, 14 November, from 4pm to 8pm at La RicMal Wine Emporium, Shop G04, Makers Landing, V&A Waterfront. Visitors are invited to enjoy the exhibition while sampling the Emporium’s selection of fine wines, Champagnes, Cap Classiques and whiskies.

EDITOR’S NOTE: This is Not a Sponsored Article. While La RicMal Wines regularly engages Bruinou.com to publish Sponsored Content created specifically for them, this article by Ryan Swano was written in his own capacity as an Arts, Culture, Events and Entertainment writer.