Johnson's pigmented surfaces demonstrate a delight in the application and layering of paint. His studio is full of precious pigments that recall the work of Japanese nihonga- style painters who are trained in traditional methods of mixing rare pigments. Often made from natural materials such as shell, nihongo-style painters mix pigments that glisten with different textures Johnson uses the iridescent pigment iriodin which is made from sand to imbue the canvases with an effervescent glow.
In the series Ambrosial light, an intimate scale is enhanced by a tranquil palette. The fragility and delicacy of the fine grid is overlaid with pastel colours from sumptuous lilacs to misty blues. Like wafts of clouds, these smaller paintings seem hazy as colour is distilled into harmonious pools of light. Dissipating spheres suggest an experimental quality reinforced by the fact that Johnson sensitively observes shifting light sources throughout the day. The saturated and bleached light of Australian conditions imbues these works with a silken, atmospheric quality. Ultimately, Johnson inflects his abstraction with a reverie for texture and light. Nathalie King, extract from 'Conversation with the artist', Exhibition Catalogue, March, 2000
Biography
Born 1963 London. Lives and works in Melbourne.
Education and Employment
1982-84 National Art School, Higher Art Certificate, Sydney
Solo Exhibitions
2003
Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
2002
Ben Grady Gallery, Canberra Greenhill Gallery, Perth Fireworks Gallery, Brisbane
2001
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
2000 Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
1999
Olsen Carr Art Dealers, Sydney
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1998
Arts D'Australie, Paris, France
Moments in Civilisation, The Vault Contemporary Artspace,
Bundaberg Arts Centre, Queensland
Mappings, James Allen Gallery, Toronto, Canada
1996
Olsen Carr, Art Dealers, Sydney
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1995
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1994
Room Exhibition, Imperial Hotel, New Delhi
Room 32, Regents Court Hotel, Sydney
1993
Studio Exhibition, Sydney
1992
Chrisitine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
1991
Studio Exhibition, Sydney
1990
Studio Exhibition, Sydney
1989
Studio Exhibition, Sydney
Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
Selected Group Exhibitions
2002
Depth of Field, Shepparton Art Gallery, VIC
Good Vibrations, Heide Museum of Art, Heidelberg VIC
Exposition collective, Conseil General de Loire Atlantique, Nantes, France
2001
Love Colour,Studio 91B, Adelaide
Abstraction: Spirit, Light, Pure Form, Tim Olsen Gallery, Sydney
Voyages dans le matiere, Atelier Claude Cerf, Paris
ART PARIS, Carrousel de Louvre, Paris
2001-2003
Hermanns Art Award, National Travelling Exhibition
2000
Accents Australien,Espace Adamski Designs, Paris
1999
Exposition Australie, Bastille, Paris
On Any Given Day, Bundaberg Arts Centre, Queensland
1998
Propositions Australiennes, Gallerie Luc Queyrel, Paris
1997
Espace Beziers, Beziers, France
Salon Natasha, Hanoi, Vietnam
Devoured by Paint, Olsen Carr Art Dealers, Sydney
1996
Aer Phoste, Dublin, Ireland
Flagging the Republic, Sherman Goodhope, Sydney
Abstraction Now, Geelong Regional Gallery, Victoria
3 x 3 Sites: Exhibition, Sydney, Christchurch, Berlin
1995
Icon of our Times, Salon Natasha, Hanoi, Vietnam
Group Show, Olsen Carr Art Dealers
Hidden Treasures, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
Moet & Chandon Touring Exhibition House, Canberra
1994
Bet Your Life II, Annandale Galleries, Sydney
Re-placing Australian Painting, Rosinis, Auckland; Test Tube Gallery,
1993
Australian Perspecta 93, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney
Moet & Chandon Exhibition touring State Galleries of Australia
Contemporary Australian Painting: Works from the Allen, Allen & Hemsley Westpac Gallery, Victorian Arts Centre
1992
Future City - Art & Architecture, Bond Store, Sydney
1991
Over East, Lawrence Wilson Art Gallery, Perth Microsm, Gary Anderson Gallery, Sydney
10 x 10, Linden Gallery, Melbourne
1989
Fresh Art, SH Ervin Gallery, Sydney
1988
Nine Young Artists, Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne
Ariennale, EMR Gallery, Sydney
Australian Contemporary Art Fair, Melbourne
Faber Castell Prize for Drawing, Rex Irwin Gallery, Sydney
1987
Group Exhibition, Mori Gallery, Sydney
1985
NSW Travelling Art Scholarship, Blaxland Gallery, Sydney
Awards, Residencies & Grants
2002
Cite des Artes International artist residency, Paris
2001
Artist in Residence, Bundanoon, New South Wales
2000
Arts Victoria, Travel Research Grant, Gabo Island, Victoria
1999-2000
Parks Victoria Artist in residence program, Petty's Orchard,
1989-1999
Artist in residence, Bundaberg Arts Centre, QLD
1995
Travel Research Grant Australia Council (V.A.C.B.)
1993
Fisher's Ghost Art Prize, Campbelltown City Gallery, NSW
1988
Faber Castell Prize for Drawing
Commissions
1997- 1998
Babylonian Frieze, Crown Street Project, in association with Alex
2002-2003
'Yellow House Project', Macleay St Kings Cross, in association with
Collections
KPMG, Sydney; Allen Allen & Hemsley, Sydney; Artbank, Sydney; Campbelltown City Art Gallery, NSW; Faber Castell Collection, Sydney; Freehill, Hollingdale & Page, Melbourne; Hyatt Hotel, Perth; Mallesons Stephen Jacques, Melbourne; Macquarie Bank; Robert Holmes a Court Collection, Perth; Bundaberg Arts Centre, Queensland; Smorgan Collection, Melbourne; State Bank, Victoria; BHP Collection, Victoria; Deloitte Ross Tohmatsu News Corporation, and private collections in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, Cologne, Munich, Madrid, New York, Vancouver, Toronto & Canada.
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