About
Nicola is a Johannesburg-based South African artist working across oil painting and collage. Her practice is rooted in quiet observation and emotional storytelling, drawing on themes of memory, stillness, nature, and the spaces in between.
Nicola’s creative journey is shaped by instinct and her formal studies in social sciences. She believes creativity is not something you learn, it is how you move through the world.
She began her career in the corporate world before gradually shifting focus to a dedicated art practice, returning to a long-standing interest in making art.
Her process is guided by a sensitivity to mood and form, often drawn to simple, evocative elements like a lone chair, the flicker of a shadow, or the way light touches a surface. With influences ranging from Japanese aesthetics to photography, graphic design, architecture, and flowers, her work is an introspective and playful mix of mediums and meaning.
Artist Statement
My work explores moments of stillness, emotional honesty, and the quiet spaces between presence and memory. Rooted in introspection, it often draws from nature, family relationships, and the unseen layers of life’s experiences, exploring what lies beneath the surface.
I work with both oil painting and collage, alternating between them as each offers different ways of thinking and making.
My oil paintings are made using a rub-out technique, revealing forms through erasure and light. These works lean into atmospheric, ghostly impressions, soft tonal shifts, and a dreamlike quality that speaks to transience and emotional resonance.
Collage allows me to engage with found imagery and photography, weaving together fragments into visually layered narratives. Themes of identity, transformation, playfulness, and quiet tension recur. Across both mediums, I look to create space - for ambiguity, emotional resonance, and connection.
Art is my way of thinking, processing, and finding meaning.
I hope it offers others a moment to pause, to feel, and to see something of themselves within the quiet.
Selected Exhibitions
2025
October: ‘Stories in Paper’, Group Exhibition, Alliance Francaise, PTA;
August: Contra JHB, Open Studio’s, August House; Vintage Vanguard, Group Exhibition, Stephan Weltz & Co, JHB
July: ‘Third Space’, Group Exhibition, Pulp Paperworks, JHB
March: August House Salon Vanguard, Group Exhibition, JHB
2024
November: ‘Reclaimed’ Collage, Group Exhibition, CT
May: Kalk Bay Modern, CT: Art on PaperXV
2023
July: Redhill School Art’s Festival, Group Exhibition, JHB
2022
October: August House Open Studio’s, Group Exhibition, JHB
September: Bag Factory Summer Salon Group Exhibition, JHB
July: Turbine Art Fair Underground @ Oxford Parks, JHB
May: Turbine Art Fair @ Design JHB, Sandton Convention Centre, Turbine Art Fair @ Open Studio’s, Victoria Yards, JHB
2021
November: Yards of Art Group Exhibition, Victoria Yards, JHB
September: JHB Fringe Group Exhibition, The Art Room, Parkhurst
2020
November: Online exhibition for The Fine Arts Workshop
2019
November: Bag Factory Summer Salon Group Exhibition, JHB
November: Fine Art Print Fair Pop Up Exhibition, JHB
May: Bag Factory Winter Salon Group Exhibition, JHB
Client Reviews
Nicola Bouwer’s work is radiant and rich. When I view Bouwer’s work, it clearly stands out. Her ability to tell a story with the least amount of subject on the canvas is unparalleled. A single chair against an identified background says so much. Bouwer has the ability to move you to tears with only a single chair. I’m a proud collector of her work. I am thrilled to witness her artistic journey and can’t wait to see where she will go…and take me with her.
— Yasser BagershI love my art pieces from Nicola🩷. And they make me especially happy because I know they are hers.
— Suzanne StevensI am lucky to have one of Nicola’s atmospheric paintings in my hallway. It is serene and moody, taking you to a quieter place every time you walk past.
— Robyn Shamu