Naomi Johnson is a Black, queer artist and metalsmith based in Chicago, who first began metalsmithing in 2021 at a local studio. They started their handmade small batch jewelry business, Metal Petal Jewelry, in February of 2023, where they design and sell ready-to-wear and custom pieces, as well as art objects for display and exhibition. Naomi’s work has been exhibited nationally, and addition to their creative practice, they co-lead Chicago Appleseed Center for Fair Courts and are deeply invested in reducing the harms of the legal system.

They make objects out of metal as a way to express elusive feelings tied to their Black queer identity. Influenced by West African design, they reinterpret traditional forms to create their own visual language that reflects their experience living in the diaspora. Their work explores themes of queerness, belonging, kinship, dis/connection & cultural (il)legibility at the intersections of race, gender, & sexuality. Black and queer futurity are cornerstones of their design practice, pulling from ancestral and contemporary influences to both reclaim cultural lineage and imagine new possibilities for self-definition and collective liberation.

Website: metalpetaljewelry.com

Instagram: @metalpetaljewelry