Aaron Johnson: Artist Overview

Aaron Johnson’s paintings straddle the balance between unpredictability and control, abstraction and figuration, painterly blurs and minimalist hard-edges. Using a technique of staining the raw canvas, Johnson investigates the fluidity of shapes, forms and colors and the interconnectedness that manifests in between. Multitudes of creatures or figures emerge from the washes of pigment, staring elusively or at times in a soft embrace as different colors bleed from one figure to the next. Paying homage to color field painting and expressionist figuration, Johnson approaches his work as a deep visual experience underlined by a personal understanding of the unpredictability of his own subconscious. His work explores a wide range of human experiences as he depicts each eccentric form charged with a certain aura of darkness and light.

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA, in 1975, Aaron Johnson currently lives and works in Brooklyn, NY, USA. He holds an MFA from Hunter College, New York, 2005.

Biography
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Aaron Johnson - Biography

Lives and works in New York, US.

Education

2005
Master of Fine Arts, Hunter College, New York, NY.

1999
Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY.

1998
National Academy of Design, New York, NY.

1997
Bachelor of Science, Molecular and Cellular Biology, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

Selected solo exhibitions

2024
'We Are Made of StarDust', La Térmica, Málaga, Spain

2023
Day Is Night, Almine Rech, Shanghai, China
Almine Rech Paris, France (Showroom)

2022
It’s Good To Be Here, Gana Art, Seoul, Korea

2021
Other Earths, Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium

2020
Green Dreamer, Gana Art, Seoul, Korea
Cosmic Devotion, Over The Influence, Los Angeles, CA

2019
Staring at the Sun, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2018
New Paintings, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
Turkey Pistol Dinner, Galerie Sebastien Adrien, Paris, France

2017
Gone Fishin’ Joshua Liner Gallery, New York ,NY

2015
Pisockophilia, Stux + Haller Gallery, New York, NY.
¡Eso Si Que Es!, Arts and Leisure Gallery, New York, NY.

2013
Sock Paintings, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

2012
iberty Chomp, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2011
Freedom from Want, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

2010
Scars and Stripes, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Don’t Be Scared, You’re Supposed to Be, Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC.

2008
Star-Crossed, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
Where the Buffalo Roam, Mogadishni, Copenhagen, Denmark.

2007
Love Songs for Demons, Mogadishni, Aarhus, Denmark.
Hellhound Rodeo, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.

2005
Fiend Club Lounge, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.

2004
Bubblin’ Crude, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY.

Selected group exhibitions

2022
House Parté 2: The Final Salé, curated by Carlye Packer, Palm Springs, CA
September To Remember, Gana Art, Seoul

2021
Light, Miles McEnery, New York, NY
Salon de Peinture, Almine Rech, New York, USA
Un Hiver à Paris, Almine Rech Gallery, Paris, France
Inner Worlds, Ramp Gallery, London
Potent, Harpers, East Hampton, NY

2020
Painting someone, Almine Rech, Shanghai
Rise and Shine, Over The Influence, Hong Kong
Stranger Things, Ramp Gallery, London
1988 Gallery Anthony, Chicago
Chronicles, Gallery Droste, Wuppertal, Germany
The Stranger Things, Ramp Gallery, London

2019
In Heaven Everything is Fine, Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, NY

2018
Chum Chum Rubby Dubby, AishoNanzuka Gallery, Hong Kong
Sieben, Ober Gallery, Kent, CT
This Wild Parade, Spring/Break Show, New York, NY

2017
Summer Breaks, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
The Cannonball Run, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen
Birds of the Audubon, 101 Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA

2016
Summer Mixer, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
The Fourth Wall, Booth Gallery, New York, NY
Pretty Creepy, Booth Gallery, New York, NY

2015
Walk in my Shoes, Mass MoCA, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA.
Hot Slice, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.
Blaze of Glory, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Viewer Discretion…The Children of Bataille, Stux + Haller Gallery, New York, NY.
Heathen Fundamentalist,; An Ode to Philip Guston, The Lodge Gallery, New York, NY.
Static Cling 2, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY.
Free Market Economy, Spring/Break Art Show, New York, NY.

2014
The Halloween Show, Gitler & ______, NY, NY.
Burning Bright: Tiger, Tiger, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
Heat, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Awkward Phase, Pop Up curated by Jeremy Willis, Brooklyn, NY.
If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind? Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

2013
Hello Nasty, Cindy Rucker Gallery, New York, NY.
The Wild Bunch, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Die Wunderkammer, The Lodge, New York, NY
One Hundred Little Deaths, Bravin Lee Programs, New York, NY.

2012
Exquisite Corpses, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
Like Comment Share, American University Art Museum Katzen Center, Washington DC.
The Dirty Double Dozen, Freight and Volume, New York, NY.
Piping Down the Valleys Wild, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
Drawn to You, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

2011
Good Intentions, Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel.
You Are Free, Kunsthalle Exnergasse, WUK Werkstaetten und Kulturhaus, Vienna, Austria.
Facemaker, Royal T, Los Angeles, CA. Curated by Kathy Grayson.
Sick!, Misc. Project, New York, NY.
Bitches Brew, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Volta New York, represented by Galeria Mito, New York, NY.
Desires, Nightmares, Dreams 2. Running Horse Contemporary Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon.

2010
Run and Tell That: New Work from New York, SU Art Galleries, Syracuse, NY.
Big Picture, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.
Dawn Frasch, Aaron Johnson, Wes Lang, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway.
The Irrascible Assholes, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
Bushwick Schlacht, Fortress to Solitude, Brooklyn, New York.
You Are Free, The Tape Club, Berlin, Germany.
Inflection, The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY.
The Antidote, Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY.
The Rise and Fall of Excess Culture, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

2009
Ridykeulouse Hits Bottom, Leo Koenig Projekte, New York, NY.
Desires, Nightmares, Dreams. The Running Horse Contemporary Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon.
Low Blow: and Other Species of Confusion, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
Octo Pusses, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA.
Tales of Wonder and Woe, Castle Gallery, New Rochelle, NY.

2008
Grotesque Histories, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
From Head to Toe, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
Summer Exhibition, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY.

2007
Size Matters Part One: XS- Recent Small Scale Paintings, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY;(2008) Knoxville Museum of Contemporary Art, Knoxville TN
Size Matters Part Two: XXL- Recent Large Scale Paintings, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY.
Irrational Exuberance, Maddox Art, London, England.

2006
Summer Group Show, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY.
Six Degrees of Separation, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

2005
New Art, New York: Reflections on the Human Condition, Trierenberg Holding AG, Traun, Austria.
Kiss Me Long and Hard, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.
Go Figure! JET Art Works, Washington DC.
MFA Thesis Exhibition XXV, Hunter College Times Square Gallery, New York, NY.
Group Show, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, CA.

2004
On-Site - A Site-Specific Group Show, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY.
New American Talent- The 19th Exhibition, Art House Texas, Austin, TX, curated by Jerry Saltz.
Surface Tension, Lombard-Freid Fine Arts, New York, NY.
A Sense of Place, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO.

2003
Tits and Art 3, GV-AS Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
Dirty Old Toy Box, Fluxcore Art Space, Brooklyn, NY.
Love, Art, and War, Altman Gallery, New York, NY.

2002
Launch, Fluxcore Art Space, Brooklyn, NY.
Memetics, Meme Project, New York, NY.

Awards

2016
CCA Andratx Residency, Mallorca, Spain

2015
VCCA Virginia Center for Creative Arts Residency

2013
Yaddo Foundation Residency

2012
MacDowell Colony Fellowship

2006
Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Residency

2006
Chashama Studio Residency

2004
Graf Travel Grant, Hunter College, research trip to India.

Collections

Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation
Coleccion Solo, Madrid, Spain
Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY
Fundación Mer, Madrid, Spain
Bibliography
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Aaron Johnson - Bibliography

Bibliography

Podcast: We Eat Art episode 26, interviewed by Zak Smith and John Mejias, 2018
Bors, Chris, “Critic’s Picks”, Artforum, May 2017.
Viner, Jonathan, “Americana Apocalypse: Aaron Johnson Gone Fishin’ at Joshua Liner Gallery, Whitehot Magazine, May 2017
Lambert, Audra, “Painting the Absurd: The Engrossing, Grotesque Art of Aaron Johnson”, Quiet Lunch, May 2017
Change, Mark, “Gone FIshin’ Solo Show at Joshua Liner Gallery New York”, Doze Collective, April 2017
Sargent, Sarah, "Aaron Johnson: Stux & Haller", Artillery Magazine, March 15, 2015.
Voynovskaya, Nastia, "On View: Aaron Johnson's 'Pisockophilia'", Hi Fructose March 3, 2015
Mair, Moray, "Aaron Johnson's Sock Paintings are a Grotesque Satire on Modern Life", Mutant Space, 11/25/2013.
Jablon, Sam, "The Horror of Socks", Hyperallergic, 11/7/2013.
Frank, Priscilla, "These Sock Paintings Are More Unsettling Than You Can Imagine (NSFW)", The Huffington Post, 10/6/2013.
Sock Paintings Exhibition Catalog, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, 2013.
Frank, Priscilla, “Stux Gallery’s ‘Piping Down the Valleys Wild’ Explores Innocence in the Contemporary World”, The Huffington Post, July 2012.
Liberty Chomp Exhibition Catalogue, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, 2012.
Indrisek, Scott, “Art Reviews: Aaron Johnson at Stux Gallery”, Modern Painters, 12/2011.
Freight and Volume Magazine, interview with artist Mi Ju, 12/2011.
Lindboe, Af Ole. “Aaron Johnson Djaevle Med Knal Pa”, Kunst Magazinet, Nr. 1/2011, pg 12-17
Indrisek, Scott. “Big Picture.” Modern Painters, October 2010.
Dawson, Jessica. “Aaron Johnson’s Hyper-Realism.” The Washington Post, 6/4/2010.
Judkis, Maura. “Barnaby Whitfield and Aaron Johnson at Irvine Contemporary.” Washington Citypaper, 5/14/2010.
Inflection, exhibition catalog, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, 2010
Beautiful/Decay book 2. 2010.
Indrisek, Scott, “Aaron Johnson.” Whitewall Magazine, issue 13, pg 64-65, 2009.
Smith, Roberta, “Art In Review.” The New York Times. 10/17/08.
Gladstone, Valerie, “Reviews: New York.” ARTnews, pg 168, 11/08.
Pedersen, Anja Moller. “Bonnie og Clyde i Farver.” Aarhus.Nu, 12/07.
Sumpter, Helen. “Irrational Exuberance.” Time Out London,11/5/07.
Chambers, Christopher Hart. “Grilling Up the Hellhound Rodeo.” dArt International, v.10,#2,2007.
Amir, Yaelle. Exhibition Review. Beautiful/Decay, Issue T. 8/07.
Baker, R.C. "Best in Show." The Village Voice. 6/5/07.
Dressler, Christiane. “New York Kitzely Heraus, Was Du In Dir Hast.” Welt, 10/13/07.
Smith, Roberta. “Art in Review.” The New York Times. 11/4/05.
Baker, R.C. “Voice Choices.” The Village Voice. 10/26/05.
Exhibition Catalog: New Art, New York: Reflections on the Human Condition. Published by Trierenberg Holding AG, Traun, Austria. 2005.
Animal Magazine. Issue 6: Instincts. Fall 2005.
New American Paintings, 55th edition. The Open Studios Press. 2005.
Buck, Louisa. "The Other Fairs." The Art Newspaper,Art Basel/Miami Beach Daily.12/2/04.
Polgar, Robi. “New American Talent – The 19th Exhibition.” The Austin Chronicle. 8/6/04.
Van Ryzin, J. C. “Curator Weaves New Craftiness into ‘New American Talent’.” Austin 360, 7/1/04.
Cotter, Holland. “Politics that Makes Peace with the Beauty of Objects.” New York Times, 6/18/04
Levin, Kim. “Voice Choices.” The Village Voice. 6/15/04.
Exhibition catalog: New American Talent – The 19th Exhibition, Arthouse Texas. 04.
Pratt Publications: “Two Years After.” Gateway. Volume 13, Number 12. 2/17/03.