Karla Nixon

Born in Durban in 1990, Karla Nixon spent her early childhood on a sugarcane estate in Eswatini before returning to KwaZulu-Natal, where she continues to live and work. Best known for her meticulously crafted hand-torn paper collages, Nixon has established herself as one of South Africa's leading contemporary artists working in the medium.

Nixon completed her Master's Degree in Fine Art at the Durban University of Technology in 2017, graduating Cum Laude. Her research explored concepts of transience within the work of paper artists, a subject that continues to inform her practice today. During her studies she received the Sam Newton Trophy, the Dean's Merit Award and an NRF Scholarship.In 2017–2018, Nixon completed a three-month artist residency in Bremen, Germany, further developing her distinctive approach to collage. Her work has been selected multiple times as a finalist in both the Sasol New Signatures and ABSA L'Atelier competitions, two of South Africa's most prestigious art awards.

Nixon's artworks are held in private collections throughout South Africa and internationally, including collections in Australia, Spain, Lebanon and the Netherlands. Her work is also represented in public collections such as the Durban Art Gallery and the National Art Bank of South Africa.

StateoftheART is proud to present a curated selection of Karla Nixon's original artworks available for acquisition.

Selected Exhibitions:

2026
Solstice | Part II, (19 Jan-15 Feb) THK Gallery, Cape Town
A Grammar of Belonging(12 feb-14 March), THK Gallery, Cape Town

2025
When Surfaces Speak, La Motte, Franschhoek
Arial Seams, THK Gallery, Cape Town
Spier Light Art Exhibition, Spier Wine Farm, Stellenbosch
Collected Memory, THK Gallery, Cape Town
Affairs of the Art, State oftheART Gallery, Cape Town

2024
Paper Tale, State of the Art Gallery, Cape Town
Paperland, A Pick Gallery, Torino, Italy
AbstRact: the hidden synchrony, Rupert Museum, Stellenbosch (Installation)
The Agitation to Regain… To Regain, The Regeneration of Africa, Melrose Gallery, Johannesburg

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.