Sylvie Johnson

Paris-based Sylvie Johnson is an artist and weaver. Her work layers themes of nature, the perception of light and shadow, an exploration of art history, architecture, movement, and the mastery of material composition. 

Art, for Johnson, is linked to emotions. In the act and experience of art, there is a dialogue between objects, self, and space—between any elements that are alive—that creates movement. This is why nature, to Johnson, is the first art. It is in perpetual movement and has inspired humans from the beginning.

For this reason, shadow has inspired Johnson’s work for decades as the intersection of nature, emotion, and dimensionality. To Johnson, shadow is the element that brings textiles to life.

In 2017, Johnson joined Merida as the Artistic Director, expanding the concept of weaving textiles as art. Studying the effects of hue, relief, and shadow, Johnson’s work experiments with the mixing of textural yarn palettes to layer experience and memory into impressionistic pieces. In this, Johnson works with a curated team of talented designers and master craftsmen to create Merida’s annual Atelier collection, a fusion of individual brilliance and collective creativity.

With the vision of Sylvie Johnson, each of our skills as craftsmen, artists, and designers are woven together to create one-of-a-kind works of living art. We draw our inspiration from the art and culture that link us to the long and rich history of textiles and art, allowing us to continue the ancient conversation in a contemporary way. In the Atelier collection, each limited-edition piece beckons participation and requires your experience to be complete.