Philip Johnson - Recent Paintings
May 1st - June 1st, 2006
Studio Access & Gallery, Astoria, Oregon
Recent transplant to Astoria, Philip Johnson will be showing some of his recent abstract paintings from May 1st through June 1st at Studio Access & Gallery, 453-A 11th St., Astoria, Oregon. A reception for the artist will be held Saturday, May 13th, from 5:00-7:30 PM.
Most of the work to be shown was created in his Astoria studio in the Fall of 2005. Of his recent relocation to Astoria, Johnson said: "I don't like to think of myself as a transplant to this area so much as a 'graft,' like one of those funny novelty cactus things you can buy at the nursery. This town is a very special place and a great town for a painter. The geography, architecture and people are absolutely wonderful. It's easy to wander around town and feel like you're walking through an endless landscape of Edward Hopper and Richard Diebenkorn paintings. The light here is beautiful, and it's always changing."
Johnson paints large black and white paintings he refers to as "gestural abstractions." Of his work, he says, "It's not so much about attempting to illustrate nature, but striving to emulate it; trying to get to the essential core rhythms of the creative act. And rhythm is very important to the work. For me, the creative act is very much a dance, and the resulting paintings are a reference to that dance, like those numbered footprint cutouts they used put on the floor at the Arthur Murray Dance Studio to show you how to do the tango or the fox trot." As for subject matter, Johnson says, "I like to hint at things but never quite bring them off, so that the audience can establish their own relationship with the work. I feel that is very important, as I don't have strong narrative statements to reveal, my statements are more about fundamental states of existence, of being, and of creation. Let the audience fill in the rest; that way they get to have some fun too."
Below are two paintings from this exhibit. For high-resolution images for reproduction, right-click on the links below the images.
 |
 |
| Birth of Venus, 40"x30", Acrylic on Canvas Right Click Here to Save High-Res TIFF File (4.6Mb) |
Desert Highway at Night, 24"x18", Acrylic on Canvas Right Click Here to Save High-Res TIFF File (4.3Mb) |