Nicolette Johnson
Abstracted concepts take ephemeral forms, stretching the materiality of the medium in Nicolette Johnson’s ceramic pottery.
Words: Emma-Kate Wilson
“It was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made for myself, and I feel incredibly privileged to be able to make pots for a living!” shares Nicolette Johnson.
Space Flower II, 2019 as a work in progress in Nicolette Johnson’s studio. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
Nicolette had travelled the world before she even began her pottery career. The first five years were spent in London, before ten years in Texas, and finally moving to Brisbane 15 years ago. The sunny capital of Queensland is now called home, and where her interest in art was nurtured. However, as Nicolette’s family live back in Texas, being able to visit family once a year provides that crucial time-out to stop and reflect.
The artist found pottery after a long time of curiosity; she’d often find herself in antique stores and op-shops drawn to interesting pots and ceramics. While working as a freelance photographer, in 2015 the artist decided to begin a weekly pottery class at a local studio in West End called Clayschool in an attempt to relieve the stress and anxiety she had developed from her bustling career. However, as she shares, “it didn’t take long for me to realise that I enjoyed making ceramics much more than I enjoyed making photographs.” In 2017 Nicolette decided to make the switch from photographs to full-time pottery.
Flora Fatale III, IV, and II, by Nicolette Johnson. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
“Typically, I’ll begin a pot by coiling a simple form on the wheel, and then I will spend days embellishing it with hundreds of hand-formed spherical protrusions, all made and applied to the surface one-by-one.”
Nicolette Johnson in her studio working on Dark Tower, part of the An Idea Needing to Be Made major exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
Dark Tower, part of the An Idea Needing to Be Made major exhibition at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
Within Nicolette’s work is a honed focus on symmetry, pattern, and geometry. Sourced from the sequences occurring nature and translating these Fibonacci sequences into clay. She begins by coiling a simple form on the wheel and spends days on the intricate details, like the hundreds of hand-formed spherical protrusions. This technique can be seen on her award-wining work, Dark Tower (2019), which took home the handcrafted award for the inaugural TDF Design Awards.
Space Flower sketches by Nicolette Johnson.
It’s been a big year for Nicolette. Alongside her win at TDF Design Awards, Nicolette was also included in The Churchie, the esteemed early career art award; and she was picked up by not just one gallery but two (Jan Murphy Gallery in Brisbane and Sophie Gannon Gallery in Melbourne)! And with a final bang to the year, she found out she is one of the artists who received the Willoughby Bequest 2020 Commissioning Program at Museum Applied Arts and Sciences. For the commission, Nicolette will continue exploring botanical forms, while incorporating sci-fi and astronomical elements.
Nicolette Johnson in her studio working on Space Flower I, 2019. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
Particle Vase, 2019 by Nicolette Johnson. Photo - Courtesy of the artist and Sophie Gannon Gallery.
“2019 has been a year of monumental change for me and my practice… I am excited to see how I can push my work further next year and surprise myself with what I create.”
Topiary II, 2019 by Nicolette Johnson. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
“The repeating patterns that emerge in the works reflect the repetition of movement that occurs when I am making them.”
Space Flower I, 2019. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.
Nicolette Johnson in her studio glazing one of her Symbol vases. Photo - Courtesy of the artist.