South African visual artist Karla Nixon

Karla Nixon

South Africa | 5 artworks for sale

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  • On The Table II - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon On The Table II
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
    R16 250
  • Line 2 - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon Line 2
    Mixed Media / 66 x 88 cm
    R12 000
  • Line 3 - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon Line 3
    Mixed Media / 66 x 88 cm
    R12 000
  • Patch 1 - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon Patch 1
    Mixed Media / 111 x 114 cm
    R30 000
  • Skin - Collage by Karla Nixon Skin
    Collage / 100 x 140 cm
    R38 000
  • That's Wear 1 - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    That's Wear 1
    Mixed Media / 83 x 113 cm
  • We Sense It's Intention #1 - Collage by Karla Nixon
    We Sense It's Intention #1
    Collage / 70 x 100 cm
  • Soft Fade - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Soft Fade
    Collage / 70 x 100 cm
  • On Fire - Collage by Karla Nixon
    On Fire
    Collage / 70 x 100 cm
  • A Life In Six Parts - Collage by Karla Nixon
    A Life In Six Parts
    Collage / 152 x 152 cm
  • Sand To Sea - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Sand To Sea
    Collage / 200 x 140 cm
  • Crop - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Crop
    Collage / 70 x 100 cm
  • Small Moments II - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Small Moments II
    Collage / 37 x 8 cm
  • Small Moments I - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Small Moments I
    Collage / 37 x 8 cm
  • Sihle II - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Sihle II
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 113 cm
  • Sihle I - Paper-cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Sihle I
    Paper-cut Art / 92 x 118 cm
  • Mermaids, But - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Mermaids, But
    Collage / 70 x 100 cm
  • Tuesday 18'31 - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Tuesday 18'31
    Collage / 58 x 80 cm
  • Monday 08'31 - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Monday 08'31
    Collage / 58 x 80 cm
  • Friday 17'07 - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Friday 17'07
    Collage / 58 x 80 cm
  • What Big Intensities You Have - Collage by Karla Nixon
    What Big Intensities You Have
    Collage / 100 x 140 cm
  • Sunday 09'15 - Collage by Karla Nixon
    Sunday 09'15
    Collage / 58 x 80 cm
  • Playground II - Paper Artwork by Karla Nixon
    Playground II
    Paper Artwork / 81 x 112 cm
  • Crackle - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Crackle
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
  • Erode - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Erode
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
  • Tillage I - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Tillage I
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
  • Mirage - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Mirage
    Mixed Media / 100 x 140 cm
  • You Could Feel The Heat - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    You Could Feel The Heat
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
  • Bic - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Bic
    Mixed Media / 100 x 140 cm
  • Bheki I - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Bheki I
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 141 cm
  • Tillage II - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Tillage II
    Mixed Media / 70 x 100 cm
  • Playground I - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Playground I
    Mixed Media / 81 x 112 cm
  • Stitch III - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Stitch III
    Mixed Media / 18 x 25 cm
  • Stitch II - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Stitch II
    Mixed Media / 18 x 25 cm
  • Stitch IV - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Stitch IV
    Mixed Media / 18 x 25 cm
  • Stitch I - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Stitch I
    Mixed Media / 18 x 25 cm
  • Dye Stained Their Hands - Mixed Media by Karla Nixon
    Dye Stained Their Hands
    Mixed Media / 140 x 100 cm
  • Building Castles - Paper-cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Building Castles
    Paper-cut Art / 92 x 150 cm
  • Erin - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Erin
    Paper-Cut Art / 97 x 131 cm
  • Sacro - Paper-cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Sacro
    Paper-cut Art / 92 x 133 cm
  • Dikeled I - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Dikeled I
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 117 cm
  • Reid - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Reid
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 125 cm
  • Athobe II - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Athobe II
    Paper-Cut Art / 90 x 142 cm
  • Athobe - Paper-cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Athobe
    Paper-cut Art / 92 x 135 cm
  • Yesterday - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Yesterday
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 150 cm
  • Mzwandile - Paper-Cut Art by Karla Nixon
    Mzwandile
    Paper-Cut Art / 92 x 127 cm
Karla Nixon is an artist who predominantly works with paper: she hand-cuts, tears and sculpts intricate images and objects, drawn from her surrounding environments. More recently her work has used this medium to explore themes around colour, texture, textiles and land.

In constructing her works, Karla uses a collage method in which archival paper is painted then gently torn into strips, which and placed one atop another through a labour intensive, time-consuming process.

"Paper is central to my practice because of its delicacy, its everyday usage and its recyclability. Paper is one of the most consumable commodities of our time. I make use of paper as my primary medium whether it is cut, embossed or sculpted. The more the paper is cut the more fragile it becomes. This choice of medium refers to the fragility of the transient state of our lives and our environment."

Masters in Fine Art (Durban University Of Technology)

Karla Nixon was born in 1990 in Durban South African, however she spent her early childhood on a sugarcane estate in Swaziland before relocating to Durban.  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. She has been selected as a finalist in both the Sasol and ABSA art competitions a number of times.  Her work is in a number of private collections in South Africa, Lebanon, Australia, Spain and Holland. As well as in public collections including; 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.


Selected Exhibitions:

2023
RMB Latitude Art Fair, Johannesburg, 1+1 (Group, Art Fair)
(Un)expected Art Fair, Milan, Italy (Group, Art Fair)
Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch, Spier Light Art Exhibition (Group Exhibition)
StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town - Time & Tide Waits For No Man (Group Exhibition)

2022
A Pick Gallery, Torino, Italy, Landscapes of Hidden Words (Group Exhibition)
KZNSA Gallery, Durban, Transience (Group Exhibition)
State of the Art, Cape Town, Winter Salon (Group Exhibition)
Lizamore & Associates, Johannesburg, Underfoot (solo exhibition)
StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, Abstract*d (Group Exhibition)

2021
StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, CREASE (Solo Exhibition)
KZNSA Gallery, Durban, Commune, (Group Exhibition)

2019
KZNSA Gallery, Durban, Just Listed (Solo Exhibition)
KZNSA Gallery, Durban,  Know this place, (Group Exhibition)
KZNSA Gallery, Durban, Creative Block Project Exhibition, (Group Exhibition)
Phansi Museum, Durban, Be Inspired by Phansi (Group Exhibition)
StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, The Durban July  (Group Exhibition)
Mbombela Civic Centre, Mpumalanga, National Innibos Craft Award 2019, Finalist (Competition)
RUST-EN-VREDE Gallery, Cape Town, Birds (Group Exhibition)

2018
Art.b Gallery, Bellville, Cape Town, #Paper. (Group Exhibition)
ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg, Absa l'atelier exhibition top 100 (Competition)
Bremischen Bürgerschaft, Bremen, Germany. (Small Solo).
StateoftheART Gallery, Cape Town, The Marks We Make (Group Exhibition)

2017
ArtSpace Durban, Durban, Together apart (Group Exhibition)
ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg, Absa l'atelier exhibition top 100 (Competition)
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, Sasol Signatures, Finalist (Competition)
ICC, Durban, Essence Festival, Enchant. Celebrate. Create. Disrupt (Group Exhibition)

2016
Breathing Space, Durban, Transition, curated by Grace Kotze (Group Exhibition)
ArtSpace Durban, Durban, Once More (Solo Exhibition)
DF Contemporary, Cape Town, Artemisia (Group Exhibition)
Loading Bay Gallery, Durban, Own a Space-July (Group Exhibition)
Loading Bay Gallery, Durban, Own a Space-August (Group Exhibition)

2015
Open Plan Studio, Durban, Tracksides (Group Exhibition)
Fringe Art Fair, Arts on Main, Johannesburg, Curate. a. space, curated by Carol Brown (Group Exhibition)
Hilton Arts Festival, Hilton, Eye Candy, curated by Carol Brown (Group Exhibition)
DUT Gallery, DUT Staff Exhibition (Group Exhibition)
Breathing Space, Anthropology III, curated by Grace Kotze (Group Exhibition)

2014
Durban Art Gallery, Looking Forward: Our lives in 2034 (Group Exhibition)

2013

ArtSpace Durban, Absa L’atilier Art Competition
ABSA Gallery, Johannesburg, Absa L’atilier Art Competition top 100

2012
The Collective, Durban, Three Boys and a Girl (Group Exhibition)
The Collective, Durban, Black and Blue (Group Exhibition)
ArtSpace Durban, Science Art/ Art Science (Group Exhibition)
ArtSpace Durban, d’ Art Exchange and Artists (Group Exhibition)
ArtSpace Durban, Absa L’atilier Art Competition
Pretoria Art Museum, Pretoria, Sasol Signatures (Finalist)

2011
Durban University of Technology Art Gallery, Durban, Reuse (Group Exhibition)

2010
Durban University of Technology Art Gallery, Durban, Amazing Starts (Group Exhibition)


If you could only have one piece of art in your life, what would it be?
A work by El Anatsui. I just love his work.

How did you get started? Did you always want to be an artist?
I always knew I would end up in the arts, but when I was young I didn’t have a clear path. After school I applied for a few different fields within the arts. Fine Art was just the first to get back to me, and I took it as a sign. Luckily for me it was the perfect fit, I felt more at home then I had ever felt.

What are some of the key themes you explore in your work?
The themes I explore vary. I am however always in some way or another inspired by my direct environment. Some reoccurring themes include mundanity, repetition and concepts of home.

What should people know about your art that they can’t tell from looking at it?
Everything is usually made from paper. It is almost always hand-torn, sculpted, assembled or cut.

Tell us more about your creative process.
Like most artists, there is initially a lot of sitting and thinking, conceptualizing, drawing, mind mapping, reading and discussing. Once I have settled on the start of an idea (this is never absolutely cemented),  I will then photograph or source reference images if the work requires it, I select my paper and get to work. Often I see how it goes and adapt and change the work while making it, then that work is often a catalyst for the next or I am back to sitting…etc.

Do you believe an artist should use their platform to influence society? Why?
I think that influencing society is an incredibly important role for art to play. However I do believe that it is very big shoes to fill, and not all art can and/or seeks to. For centuries art has been made by millions of artists, but only a select few are spoken about as being influential. It’s not that the work that is on the periphery is necessary any lesser than the works adorning our history and contemporary books, articles, blogs and webpages. For whatever reason they got lost in the abyss of unrecognized, peripheral artists. Art can also be made for a myriad of reasons, for example, if not social then personal. A purely selfish act for the artist, where making for making sake is the sole reason. It could just be to preserve and showcase aesthetic and technically beauty. Or simply to bring joy to a solitary person or group that shares their space and walls with the work on a daily basis. I think that is what is so wonderful about art, it has the ability to do all or some or none of what I have mentioned.  

What are your aspirations for the future?
?I hope to further grow my career, and continue finding joy in creating, experimenting and changing.