Nic Joly
New Valentine's Day pieces | 2023

Featured art (L-R): 'Play On'. £2,500 and 'Heart Beat', £995, by Nic Joly.  Limited edition mixed media sculpture.

Love is the key

Anyone familiar with Nic’s work knows he’s not afraid to wear his heart on his sleeve, and the new pieces are just as emotional. “These pieces show that love is the key,” he says. “Life is about love and kindness; not just romantic love, but the other kinds, too,” adding that love for your children, family and close friends are also important in our lives.

‘Heart Beat’ shows a couple kissing underneath a stylised line from a heart monitor, showing a big, traditional red Valentine’s heart in the middle, whilst ‘Play On’ shows both couples, and people just doing things they love – like the man wearing an AC/DC t-shirt and holding a guitar aloft! “It’s all a celebration of life and showing that love really rocks. It’s something to put a smile on people’s faces”. 

Nic’s openly emotional pieces make a huge connection with his many collectors, who often tell him what they mean to them. “It’s really humbling to hear that my art touches people. I heard from the parents of a soldier who was killed in Afghanistan, and they bought my ‘Never Forgotten’ piece. They sent a picture of it on their wall, together with a picture of their son. There was also a guy who went into a gallery after he saw ‘No Man is an Island’ through the window. He said he’s never been in a gallery before, but as soon as he saw the piece, he burst into tears and said that was when he knew he had to have it!”

Total craftsmanship

The emotion in Nic’s pieces is only matched by the huge levels of craftmanship which goes into every piece. A former carpenter, Nic comes up with ideas for pieces, then thinks hard about how they can be made. Each of the figures in them is cast in bronze, and they must be carefully checked and polished before they can be painted in minute detail.

For ‘Heart Beat’, Nic designed the ECG line, and then laser-cut the template for it. He then sprayed it red with a particular neon paint which he can only source in France, which means every piece is totally unique. ‘Play On’ is decorated with sprays of bunting, made from delicate tissue paper which had to be cut into tiny triangles. “If you breathe, it gets everywhere!” laughs Nic, who lets nothing get in the way of his miniature masterpieces.