Joanna Towers
Joanna Towers is a contemporary artist based in Kent who migrated from Tanzania to the UK in 1969, growing up in rural Sussex and Kent. Working across drawing, painting, and sculpture, her practice explores ecological themes, questioning anthropocentric assumptions and emphasising human interdependence with the natural world.
Her still-life paintings focus on aesthetic vases and jugs. Controlled lighting is used to emphasise simplicity, form, and a more distilled way of looking.
Her process begins with observational studies in charcoal, graphite, ink, and pencil, which inform larger works in acrylic, oil, and pastel. Through layering, glazing, and impasto, she foregrounds texture and surface in a material-driven approach.
Recent work incorporates figurative allegory to examine ownership, custodianship, and environmental change, while also committing to sustainable practices. Her landscapes, drawn from locations across the UK, combine loose brushwork, tonal contrast, and atmospheric depth with human presence to create tension and narrative.