Nancy Hilliard Joyce (b. 1972, Greenville, South Carolina) creates from her home studio in Concord, NC, where her work explores the interconnectedness of nature, time, and memory. Her latest series reflects on timelines and the histories we hold within us, blending earthy, tactile layers with diaphanous overlays that evoke the tension between permanence and impermanence. These works feature natural elements such as botanicals and bird imagery as metaphors for resilience, renewal, and the passage of time.
Hilliard Joyce’s mixed-media paintings often incorporate gold leaf, graphite, delicate ink markings, collage, and hand-painted details in oils and acrylics. This diverse approach allows her to layer meaning into her work, holding space for both the seen and unseen, and inviting viewers to engage with their own interpretations of history, connection, and place.
At the age of sixteen, Hilliard Joyce was accepted into the Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities. She earned her BA in Art History from Wofford College and her MA in Art Education from the University of New Mexico. For over a decade, she lived in Manhattan and New Jersey as a working artist. From 2012 to 2017, she served on the Board of Trustees at the Asheville Art Museum and was an active member of the River Arts District Association in Asheville, NC. She continues to give back to the arts as a board member of The Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities Foundation and The Cabarrus Arts Council.
In addition to her studio practice, Hilliard Joyce curates art for boutique hotels across the southeastern United States and creates large-scale commissions for public spaces. She is also a passionate philanthropist, using her art to support environmental initiatives, women’s causes, and children in need. Her work has been featured in Vanity Fair Magazine, Rolling Stone, Southern Living, The Wall Street Journal, and House & Garden UK, among others.
Widely collected in homes, hotels, corporate offices, and airports worldwide, Hilliard Joyce’s contemporary mixed-media works resonate with a sense of grounded beauty and timelessness. Each piece reflects her introspective approach to art, revealing perspectives that invite deeper reflection on the histories we carry and the spaces we create for them in our lives.
Follow Nancy’s daily art feed on Instagram or Facebook @NancyJoyceArt
Selected large-scale projects include:
- Fall of 2020: Installation of a custom 8 foot x 4 foot commission painting into a private collection in upstate South Carolina.
- Winter of 2020: Installation of 6 large-scale paintings into Carolina East Medical Center, New Bern, NC
- Fall of 2019: Installation into Mission Health Systems, Asheville, NC
- Fall of 2018: Two, eight-foot commission paintings installed into the Hilton @Columbia Place Hotel.
- Summer of 2018: Published “The Education of Little Me: A Short Memoir Connecting Passion with Purpose”.
- Spring of 2018: Two, fourteen-foot triptych commission pieces installed into the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
- Summer 2017: Art Consultant for Greenville, SC’s Downtown @RiverPlace Embassy Suites + installation of “Greenville Roots” painting.
- Fall of 2015: Nancy raised funds from her art show, “Bicyclette”, to travel to remote regions of Cambodia and delivered over 250 all-terrain bicycles to young, underprivileged girls. These bicycles were distributed at a ceremony where Nancy spoke through a translator about the importance of education and self-esteem for young girls.
- 2015 – 2019: Collaboration with Crossroads Label Group and Mountain Home Music Company as a conceptualizer + artist who paints large-scale works that are then spun into CD covers and released on National levels.
- Summer 2015: A permanent installation of her 75″ x 148″ triptych painting in South Carolina’s newest mixed-use hub building called, ONE.
- Summer 2014: Nancy curated an installation for a group of select artists in Western North Carolina. She has several large-scale pieces on the walls of EDISON’S, which is located inside the historic OMNI Grove Park Inn.
- Winter 2014: Nancy partnered with Girls on the Run of Western North Carolina to create a body of work titled, “Thirteen”. This exhibition showcased 13 historical and influential women which included large-scale paintings of Rosa Parks, Annie Oakley, Sacagawea, Amelia Earhart and Joan of Arc, just to name a few.
- Summer of 2014: Nancy created a one-of-a-kind painting for Green Man Brewery in collaboration of Toad the Wet Sprocket which was used for the label of a seasonal, wet-hopped IPA beer.