Nicola Joy Johnson

For many years, artist, Nicola Joy Johnson enjoyed the challenges of creating highly realistic paintings. However, her love of bold color, shape, and texture drew her to Alexander Calder’s sculptures, the vivid paintings of František Kupka and the cubist expressions of Pablo Picasso. Their work began to beckon her down the path that led to her new home in the art world. “I learned so many important and useful disciplines from working in realism,” Johnson admits. “But I had a strong desire to process the world around me in a different and vibrant way.”

Over several years, Johnson experimented in her studio, quietly tucked away in the lush, wooded mountains of western North Carolina. She was surrounded by nature and a silence that moored her and allowed her creativity to flow unimpeded. She began to explore new techniques, carefully breaking down selected subject matter into solid shapes and hues that conveyed meaningful stories.