Bio

Her work is a combination of handcrafted sculpture and metal, layer upon layered glazes, paints and other mixed media, along with pigmented, temperature and chemically reactive resins. Her original, polished, and high gloss paintings filter and reflect back as they adapt to the light and changes in their surroundings. Her pieces are strong and robust, not only in artistic nature, but also the structure created during the design process itself.

Curwood is confident in the process which she has worked hard to establish. It shows in her clean style. Her knowledge of resin, alone. She understands it. How it moves, where and how it can be manipulated. How she can use it to her advantage, and where and how to hold back within a piece. This has ultimately allowed her to take back control over a medium that is widely acknowledged as being very difficult to master.

There is a reason why the Chinese have called her work "power wall art". Each piece is a statement - showcasing luxury and opulence. The three dimensional perspective, with the transitions against the lustrous resin, allows the color and shapes to appear as if they move fluidly beneath the surface, creating movement based on the angle or viewing point. The visual depth that she is able to achieve, especially considering each piece is only a few millimeters in depth, is exceptional. She is truly at the top of her game.

Creative from a young age, in the mid to late 90's she used this ability to forge a career early on in fashion, as a freelance and editorial makeup artist, which continued over a span of 20 years. This was Johanna's first taste of living and working abroad and was not to be her last. Europe broadened her mind and became the catalyst behind her love affair with architecture. This later lead her into a career in architecture, building and design. She is quoted as saying that her work wouldn't be where or what it is today without the knowledge she gained in both of these careers, and it still heavily influences her work today.

It wasn't until 2004, during her late 20's, in what can only be described as a pivotal time in her life, that she felt drawn to paint.

Painting found me, even saved me, in a time when I needed it most. It was part healing, part escape. Grounding, silencing the harsh internal noise and bringing with it a peace and passion I'd never experienced before. Definitely welcomed, to the grief, pressure and chaos that was happening externally.

She continued, with no expectations, in this new world and was soon getting commissioned regularly. Her work was being acknowledged and she landed her first exhibition, then a second soon after. These early works were also featured in restaurants, wineries and cafes across the city of Melbourne and Greater Victoria, and in private collections elsewhere.

Life influences my work. Where we've been, where we're going. However big. However small. However insignificant it felt at the time. There is power in that moment. Acknowledging it. Reflecting on it. To be able to look back, is to be able to move forward. The story maybe different but everyone has one. It's what connects us. And it's that connection, those emotions non verbal and physical responses, when viewing my art, that resonates with the viewer. Relating it to their own experiences, their own story. We are all connected.

A health scare in 2015 changed the way she lived her life and ultimately, in 2018, the way she approached her craft. She became bold in her endeavor to discover her own artistic signature and fearless in taking the risks that she once shied away from. Finding her artistic voice and creating her legacy, became key factors, along with the importance of making her work as archival as possible - timeless. And so began years of research and experimentation, to achieve that goal.

I wanted my own style. With my own identity. How fortunate am I, to be able to bring my own definition of color and beauty into the world. Birth it into existence. From nothing to something. And for people to love it enough to want it for themselves, to live with it In their own space and to see it everyday. And then, to be passed down generationally, or collector to collector. And it be able to stand the test of time. With its own story, as part of theirs. It's own history. What started off as my legacy, now, also becomes theirs. And we leave a mark. My stamp. I was once here.

Finding her own voice has opened up endless possibilities in her work, she has a new take on the art world, which direction she is heading, and continues to cultivate that voice by opening herself up and listening to her creative intuition.

Curwood's latest work, only just released during the pandemic, has already caught the eye of galleries and collectors. Her work is displayed in showrooms, hospitals and private collections. She has worked with charity organization's including The Cancer Council, Hopeful Hearts Foundation, Henry Ford Cancer Pavillion and is scheduled for an upcoming piece for Aneurysm Awareness. She is excited for the future of her art. Johanna is an artist to watch.

Born in Melbourne, Australia. She spent most of her adult life living and working in several different parts of the world, including Europe and the UK, China and then North America, before settling just north of Miami, Florida, in 2021.

Johanna is a wife and mother of two daughters, and two rescue dogs.