Brett Allen Johnson has always experimented with his subjects, but usually within the framework of the landscape and nature. This is how he’s created his reverent and glowing images of the deserts of the American West.
A new series of work, though, has pushed his experimentation even further, into another realm entirely. Consider one of his newest works, A Crystalline Structure,a large 50-inch-wide painting of a single cloud framed by thick borders of color that are unbound from the landscape. It offers the same vibe as some of Georgia O’Keeffe’s more abstract desert paintings.
A Crystalline Structure, oil, 26 x 50 in.
“That’s the one that I started last fall. I had just been to Japan. I had been in love with all their artwork, but I didn’t want to be one of the artists that got all obsessed with Japanese art. But what it did do was make me want to branch out. I had a similar painting going on my easel. I liked it but I wasn’t sure. My daughter saw it after she popped into the studio and she thought it looked like a geode. I liked that idea, so I expanded on it. I’m perfectly happy for people to be confused by it. That’s OK with me,” Johnson says from his Utah studio. “I think the core of that idea came from a few paintings. The idea being not to completely untether my work. I don’t want to confuse people just because. That would be obvious and unauthentic. But I want to challenge them.”
Monsoon Pool, oil, 38 x 34 in.
The artist will be showing A Crystalline Structure—and a sister painting, Monsoon Pool—as well as other new work at Earthly Bodies, a new show opening November 14 at Maxwell Alexander Gallery in Pasadena, California.
In another new work, Blue Velvet,Johnson paints an old chair sitting exposed under the desert sun. The origins of the piece date to before Johnson’s professional art career began, back when he was still a woodworker. The image calls out, at least in part, to David Lynch’s 1986 film of the same name.
Knolls, oil, 10 x 18 in.
“Brett Allen Johnson’s work represents so much of what we look for in contemporary Western art, a strong sense of design, simplification and a very personal way of interpreting the landscape,” says gallery owner Beau Alexander. “He’s part of a generation of artists carrying the ideas of Western regionalism forward without just repeating what came before them. We’re proud to represent Brett and excited to see his work continue to evolve.” —
Blue Velvet, oil, 24 x 28 in.
Maxwell Alexander Gallery 1300 N. Lake Avenue » Pasadena, CA 91104 » (213) 275-1060 » www.maxwellalexandergallery.com
Powered by Froala Editor
