Details:
① Artwork:
Rites of Spring
This painting features one of the artist's recurring motifs—the use of an "X" as a stand-in for the body. Johnson’s work explores a realm of magical naturalism, where symbols and organic forms stand in as body doubles and enact moments of both tenderness and violence. The artist relies on a process of discovery to create her visceral and vibrant works. Each composition derives a sense of drama from the tension between organization and chaos. Johnson's work is a long evolving narrative grounded in its reverence for nature and the cycle of the seasons.
Specs:
③ Artist:
Gretta Johnson’s work creates a magical realm where symbols and organic forms serve as body doubles in moments of both tenderness and violence. Each of the artist’s visceral and vibrant paintings discover anew the tension between organization and chaos, giving the artist’s work a sense of drama. Johnson’s practice is a long and evolving narrative grounded in its reverence for nature.
BIO:
Gretta Johnson was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1985. The artist earned a BFA from Rhode Island School of Design in Providence, Rhode Island in 2008. Exhibitions of Johnson’s work have taken place at: Tappeto Volante Projects in Brooklyn, New York; Safe Gallery in Brooklyn, New York; L’INCONNUE in New York City; Feuer/Mesler Gallery in New York City; Real Pain in Los Angeles, California; The Desk of Lucy Bull in Los Angeles, California; and Paris London Hong Kong in Chicago, Illinois.
Johnson has published multiple art books, including: Star Fruit with Paper Rocket Comics (2014); and OOLM with Dark Chart Press (2016).
The artist lives and works in New York City.
