Aniyah Johnson
BFA: Art with an Emphasis in Illustration
Artist Name:
Aniyah Johnson
Work Title:
These violent delights, have violent ends
Medium:
Ceramic, Oil paint, and Brick
Artist Statement:
Over the past few years, I’ve been doing a series of paintings about forgotten homes in my neighborhood that often burn down every few years. My goal is to bring attention to these properties and labor upkeep. These paintings specifically will explore the relationship between everyday struggles and disaster after the tornado from summer 2025. Although painting these violent forms, they reflect the harsh realities with vibrant colors, they are making the uncomfortable more digestible for all audiences. This painting, like many of my others, explores the communities around my neighborhood and how they are affected by the growing economics of the world. Through sculpture I am now trying to produce what is real through my eyes from things I see every day. I am not necessarily trying to create something true with your eyes, but what is a collage of what’s true to me.
Artist Bio:
Aniyah Johnson is an artist based in St. Louis, MO. She is Currently receiving her BFA in painting with a ceramics minor from Webster University. Before attending Webster University, Aniyah studied painting at STLCC- Flow Valley. Her work explores relationships of identity and confirmation with harsh realities. Her painting process consists of collaging houses on top of each other giving them a surreal but also similar feeling like we have seen these houses before even though they don’t exist in our reality. Her ceramic work is truer to life when creating vessels that resemble brick.