My work always asks the same questions: What are you made of? Who made you?

Cierra Johnson
*Epiphany Tree*
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil
30x40”

I was born on the east side of Indianapolis and raised in my grandmother's house. My grandmother was a woman of faith, but she was never a Bible thumper. She was raised in the Church of Christ, but was a practicing Baptist. My granddad was a Catholic. Some uncles were Jehovah's Witnesses; some were Nation of Islam.

Cierra Johnson
*My Moon*
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil
18x24"

My grandmother played gospel and country. Mom was into Whitney Houston and Michael Jackson. Janet was into Changing Faces and got small with Trouble Funk. Uncles Stevie and Dana played Too Short & Digital Underground. My dad took us skating on the weekends.

Cierra Johnson
*Keys To Life*
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil - 36x48"

I went to IPS schools and got an excellent education in the arts and humanities, where I was introduced to Buddhism, Aristotle, and Van Gogh. The work in this show is a product of mixing styles and having to leave things unfinished. You can often see where I stopped a thought and then re-engaged with it.

Cierra Johnson
*Lyte As A Rock*
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil - 12x16"

The person that I am and the art that I make are a result of overlapping influences. The people I love have rough edges like torn paper; they are gritty, textured, full of individual histories. I have seen person after person face mythic trials to be reborn and start again.

Cierra Johnson
*Spirit*
Mixed Media, Acrylic, Marker, Colored Pencil
12x16"

I make work that reflects the communities that I am a part of. I am Black. I am femme. I love Rap music. I know how to pray and how to meditate. From Mud is a show about the push and pull between what I am and what I hope to become.