Nymphaea Nymphaea, the first solo museum exhibition by celebrated writer and painter Anna Johnson, will open today, 3 October, at the New England Regional Art Museum (NERAM).
Drawing inspiration from Claude Monet’s late mural works, this show marks a compelling fusion of contemporary abstraction and historic Impressionism.
Johnson’s exhibition reinterprets Monet’s Nymphéas series through large-scale, site-specific paintings that explore duality, perspective, and immersive visual rhythm. The exhibition title, Nymphaea Nymphaea, suggests a mirrored doubling – reflected in both the formal structure of the show and the interplay of light and shadow within the works themselves.
“Few people immediately associate Impressionism with Colour Field Abstraction,” said Johnson. “But Monet, in my view, is a powerful precursor to ‘pure’ abstraction. His late waterlily paintings broke the fourth wall of landscape painting – engulfing and inviting the viewer in.”
Johnson’s profound admiration for Monet – especially the Orangerie and Musée Marmottan installations in Paris – finds expression in a suite of expansive horizontal works designed to draw the viewer’s eye across the gallery at NERAM like water across a surface. The Blue Quartet, for instance, offers a meditative, walk-through experience evocative of light reflecting on a body of water.
Each work was created exclusively for the unique architecture of NERAM’s long, narrow Dobell gallery. The centrepiece of the show, Blood Cloud, is a year-long painting project with an intense palette and commanding proportions. On the gallery’s far wall, the monumental Interdit greets visitors with a sense of expanding perspective as they approach – subverting traditional viewing experiences.
“For this, my first institutional show, I wanted to respond directly to the shape of the space,” said Johnson. “These works are not just paintings – they’re visual experiences that shift with the viewer’s movement.”
A writer with four decades of experience, Johnson only turned to painting in 2018. A finalist in the 2025 Paddington Art Prize and preparing for her first New York solo show with Kutlesa Gallery, Chelsea in 2026, Johnson continues to build an artistic practice grounded in observation, sensitivity, and critical engagement.
As the granddaughter of a family of artists and a self-described late bloomer to the canvas, Johnson sees the many Australian artists she has written about as her “collective art school”.
Johnson will be holding a free artist talk at 5.30pm at NERAM before her show opens at 6pm. To book your free ticket visit www.neram.com.au/event/opening-night-artist-talk-anna-johnson-nymphaea-nymphaea/.
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