From a distance, Karla Nixon’s collages have the colour, movement and presence of abstract paintings. Move closer, and their true nature is revealed: hundreds of hand-painted, torn and carefully layered pieces of paper.
Karla begins by painting sheets of archival paper with acrylic colour. She then tears, cuts and assembles these fragments by hand, allowing edges, folds and overlapping layers to become part of the composition. Every decision is made intuitively, with individual pieces repositioned until rhythm, balance and movement begin to emerge.
The result is an original contemporary collage with remarkable depth and texture. No digital imagery or reproduction is used; each artwork is individually constructed from paper, paint and glue and exists as a unique piece.
Based in Durban, Karla Nixon is one of South Africa’s leading contemporary artists working with paper. Her work explores repetition, transience, everyday environments and the shifting relationship between fragility and strength. Pieces such as A Shift Begins, Forward and the Shade series demonstrate how an ordinary material can be transformed into something intricate, substantial and quietly compelling.
These original paper collages bring texture, individuality and a strong contemporary presence to an interior. Explore available collage art by Karla Nixon, selected by StateoftheART and available exclusively through the gallery, with delivery throughout South Africa and worldwide.
