KELLEY JOHNSON: Recent paintings
Iris Nesher: Project Room
Gary Passanise: Front Room
Barry Anderson: Media Room
(Sep 10, 2010 to Nov 06, 2010)
Bruno David Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition by Kelley Johnson. The exhibition "Recent Paintings" includes paintings of complex abstract landscapes. A fully illustrated color catalogue with writings by James Yood and Vara Lyons accompany the exhibition.
A native of St. Louis originally trained in the figurative tradition; Johnson's recent paintings seem to be anything but the classical skills he obtained as an art student, in Paris. Completely removed from an earthly environment, the artists works present vibrantly, at times disturbingly, chaotic other worlds of raw energy and emotion. And yet, underneath the jarring tones and clashing lines, his works retain a discipline, depth and meticulously impromptu nature characteristic of figurative conventions. Inspired by the manipulation of space and emotions, Johnsons canvases present an overall effect of chaos so effectively controlled and manipulated that its thoughtful planning becomes invisible in the process.
At their core, Johnson's current paintings stem from recent personal struggles and inner conflicts. Physically intimidating and engulfing based on their sheer size, this particular set of canvases creates a conflict in the viewer as he or she observes their own discomfort with the uncertainty of unfixed spaces and planes that continuously subvert and interrupt created volumes. Indeed, we are left with the sense that we have been transported into Johnson's inner psyche and unsure of how to resolve the strugglewhich, of course, is precisely what the artist intended.
Johnson received his B.F.A. from Parsons School of Design, New York and his M.F.A. from the Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Arts at Indiana University. This is his second one-person exhibition with the Bruno David Gallery.
Press Release (PDF)
back to top