Nic Joly’s Spring 2022 collection scrutinises the theme of love in art and unites around the concept that these pieces are not just for Valentine’s Day but, rather forever, in their bold yet delicate commentary on romance. 

The intricate artwork 'You Just Are' is an honest, real, and raw depiction of love. It features a re-designed playing card embellished with words, two bronze-cast miniature figures with painting tools, and a freshwater pearl holding a flower.  Ethically sourced, hand-polished and drilled to hold an equally detailed hand-made wire flower, the glowing pearl atop a bench perfectly offsets the rest of the monochromatic scene which represents balance in love. Balance between the spiritual and ordinary is represented by the ace of spades while the colour scheme reinforces the idea that love, like life, is not just black and white.  

The immensely detailed piece 'Honest Love'  is a brutal, comedic, and relatable depiction of love. It contains over 50 components which takes the artist a day to construct before adding another 30 layers of paint. A contemporary take on the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet, the impressive structural design of this wall sculpture features aspects of romantic Italian architecture, warm Mediterranean colours, as well as two star-crossed figures and a miniature blue vespa. Cast in bronze before being hand-painted, the two miniature figures in this piece stand against a bold and satirical statement by the artist which acts like the words of the characters scripted across the wall like graffiti. Here, the artist implies that when we are in love, we need to be honest and communicate; conjuring feelings of real life theatre.

Included in this set are:

• You Just Are | 49.5 x 49.5cm
• Honest Love | 62 x 62cm