Karla Nixon’s fourth solo exhibition titled CREASE goes on show at StateoftheART Gallery, located at 50 Buitenkant Street in Cape Town, from 17 April 2021 until 01 May 2021.

Textiles, like paper, are prevalent in every part of our lives; they adorn our homes, our offices, our bodies and have significance in almost every important moment in our lives. In CREASE, Nixon recontextualises textiles through a reinterpretation of their essence in her contemporary abstract works constructed from paper. Textiles can be an expression of self, a signifier of culture, of wealth, and embody and evoke memory. They are fundamental to our existence - yet the industry is destructive, both socially and environmentally.  These dualities were instrumental and the inspiration behind Nixon’s body of work.

The artist notes, “The assemblage of torn pieces creates a play between traditional and contemporary themes. I have used or alluded to traditional techniques used in textile creation - but attempted to push beyond the confines of textiles by paring back, zooming in, sculpting, abstracting - and working with a material not associated with the craft. Paper is central to my practice because of its fragility, its everyday usage, its recyclability, and because it is one of the most consumable commodities of our time. The magic and malleability of the medium is incomparable and is fundamental to my approach.

These latest works depart from the comfort of the white page which has become synonymous with my aesthetic, as well as a major shift from figurative to abstract. I have attempted to introduce bold explosions of colour created with washes of acrylic paint. Even with the introduction of paint and colour, the materiality of the paper is still in the fore, creating colourful, textural tapestry-like abstract work. The work is defined by acute concentration and care, it gives primary importance to the physicality of the material."

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 About Karla Nixon

Karla Nixon is a Durban based artist who predominantly works with paper. Nixon completed her Master’s degree in Fine Art in 2017 at the Durban University of Technology, South Africa. Her degree focused on transience in the work of paper artists, which she completed with Cum Laude. During her studies, she received a few awards, namely the Sam Newton Trophy and the Deans Merit award, and was awarded an NRF Scholarship. Nixon was awarded and completed a 3-month artist residency in Bremen, Germany, in 2017-18.  Her work can be found in a number of private collections in South Africa, Lebanon, Australia, Spain and Holland. Public collections include; the Durban Art Gallery and The National Art Bank.  Nixon is currently a lecturer in the Arts Extended Program at The Durban University of Technology.

About StateoftheART

Situated at 50 Buitenkant Street in Cape Town, StateoftheART is a boutique style gallery representing selected emerging and mid-career visual artists from across South Africa. Established in 2010 and a pioneer in the online art market in South Africa, StateoftheART re-imagines the brick-and-mortar art gallery experience for the digital age, differentiating itself through full transparency and accessibility.

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