Josh Johnson, Nice Art Grant Winner

This year, we offered our first annual Nice Art Grant, a no-strings-attached $500 stipend to go toward selected artists’ creative practices. With over 300 applicants, it was difficult to narrow it down to only two artists; one artist we were blown away by was Josh Johnson. His sculptures show a clear understanding of his material, with an innate sense of storytelling. The combinations of forms hold memory and show a nostalgic approach to his techniques. Josh says of his work and practice:

I am best described as a scavenger craftsman, carving and joining low materials with traditional woodworking techniques. My work pulls together fragments of found objects and materials collected from my surroundings to give form to features from lived and remembered spaces. My artistic research explores place, the shift between sculptural and pictorial perception at work within objects, the gathering of subjects from dissimilar times, and the flawed, selective nature of memory. In my recent work, wood becomes a conceptual vehicle. By utilizing tree species growing in the creases of my neighborhood, I hope to challenge ideas of commercial value, while communicating the preternatural language of folklore and transformation.

I am truly honored to be selected to receive the Nice Art Grant. It could not have come at a better time. I plan to use the funding to acquire tools, equipment, and materials necessary for the creation of my work and to continue transforming the garage into a functional wood shop.        

Congrats, Josh!