Kelley Johnson: Works on Paper by Bruno David Gallery

KELL E Y J O H N S O N Works on Paper Series

bruno david gallery

KELLEY JOHNSON Works on Paper Series

September 9 - October 15, 2011 Bruno David Gallery 3721 Washington Boulevard Saint Louis, 63108 Missouri, U.S.A. info@brunodavidgallery.com www.brunodavidgallery.com Director: Bruno L. David This catalogue was published in conjunction with the exhibition Kelley Johnson: Works on Paper Series Editor: Bruno L. David Catalog Designer: Kara Gordon Design Assistant: Claudia R. David Printed in USA All works courtesy of Bruno David Gallery and Kelley Johnson Cover image: Untitled 2 (Works on Paper Series, 2011 (detail) Acrylic and mixed media on Strathmore 500 Series Bristol (3ply vellum sheet) 30 x 22 inches

CONTENTS

WORKS ON PAPER by Sarah Mote AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David CHECKLIST AND IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION BIOGRAPHY

WORKS ON PAPER by Sarah Mote

Kelley Johnson has something to hide. The key here is in the “something.” Unlike some of his abstract predecessors, Johnson’s works are not the tyrannical field of geometric line and color of a Josef Albers or a besplattered free for all of painterly action of a Jackson Pollock or even the looping dervishes that define the picture plane of a Sol LeWitt. With his architectural detours and arcs of spontaneous (or maybe even intentional) suppression, Johnson reminds us that something significant is just beyond our grasp, and he, as the hand guiding the grand lines of this world, will keep it just within our sight and just out of our reach. His Works on Paper evade and erase. They skirt, swerve, and circumnavigate, lead us around, push us from, and ultimately pull us toward something that hovers and pulses just beneath the painting’s surface. Untitled 7 and Untitled 10 boast lines and shadows that add dimension and direction, that both simultaneously lead us out of the frame and ground us to the picture plane. With broad and muddy swaths of salmon, olive, and demonstrative black, Untitled 21 nearly, but not completely, obliterates the hopeful strokes of yellow, red, and white pushed to the far corners of the frame. The brush strokes of Untitled 2, Untitled 8, Untitled 14, and Untitled 16 circle to devour themselves like some multiheaded ouroboros, that snake that feeds on its own tail—or perhaps those intestinal coils that lie in wait like some kind of kundalini, ready to awaken, strike, and enlighten. Annihilation or enlightenment, Johnson’s lines don’t chart a clear or gilded path. There is no yellow brick road. Despite those painterly forms and strokes that lead us outward only to bring us back, Johnson’s journey of line is not a conventional narrative. These journeys don’t go anywhere. They turn in on themselves as moments of artistic and emotional self-revelation and turn on themselves in moments of seeming betrayal. Whether they are Dorothies of Oz whose journey is just a really nice dream or Alices of Wonderland whose dreams are rites of passage, these loops are reflections and illuminations that are only limited by the willingness of the viewer to walk the line. Sarah Mote is a writer who live and work in Kansas City, Missouri. This essay is one in a series of the gallery’s exhibitions written by fellow gallery artists and friends.

AFTERWORD by Bruno L. David

With the beginning of our Sixth Season, I am pleased to exhibit a new series of Works on Paper by Kelley Johnson at the Bruno David Gallery. Support for the creation of significant new works of art has been the core to the mission and program of the Bruno David Gallery since its founding. Kelley Johnson’s remarkable and compelling works makes him one the most impressive artists of the gallery. I would like to express my sincere thanks to Sarah Mote for her thoughtful essay. I am deeply grateful to Kara Gordon, who gave much time, talent, and expertise to the production of this catalogue. Johnson’s ability to absorb the viewer, produce interesting color combinations, and provide a sense of rapidity and tension are carried over from previous work to these new pieces. What makes Johnson’s new works on paper unique and exciting are the ways in which those similar ideas from before are presented in a much more minimalist fashion. Through vibrant colors and swift, almost chaotic brushstrokes juxtaposed with harsh, geometric lines, Johnson is able to produce a world that captivates and engages the viewer Kelley Johnson was born in Houston, Texas and currently lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. He 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 third exhibition with the Bruno David Gallery.

CHECKLIST & IMAGES OF THE EXHIBITION

Untitled 14, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 6

Untitled 3, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 7

Untitled 2, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 8

Untitled 21, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 9

Untitled 13, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 28 1/4 x 22 1/4 inches (71.8 x 56.5 cm) 10

Untitled 9, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 11

Untitled 4, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 12

Untitled 5, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 13

Untitled 16, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 14

Untitled 11, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 15

Untitled 15, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 16

Untitled 8, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 17

Untitled 12, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 18

Untitled 18, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 29 x 23 inches (73.7 x 58.4 cm) 19

Untitled 17, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 20

Untitled 6, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 21

Untitled 7, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 22

Untitled 10, 2011 Acrylic and mixed media on paper 30 x 22 inches (76.2 x 55.9 cm) 23

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 24

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 25

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 26

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 27

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 28

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 29

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 30

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 31

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 32

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 33

KELLEY JOHNSON: Works on Paper Series at Bruno David Gallery, 2011 (installation view - detail) 34

KELLEY JOHNSON Born: 1973, Houston, Texas Lives and works in Saint Louis, Missouri

EDUCATION 2001, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana. M.F.A. 1999, Parsons School of Design, New York, New York. B.F.A. 1998, Yale Summer School of Art, Painting Fellow, Norfolk, Connecticut

SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2011 2010 2007

Bruno David Gallery, Kelley Johnson: Works on Paper Series, Saint Louis, Missouri Bruno David Gallery, Kelley Johnson: Recent Paintings, Saint Louis, Missouri Bruno David Gallery, Kelley Johnson: Dreaming, Saint Louis, Missouri

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2010 2009 2008 2007

Overpaper, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Recession Rejuvenations, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Overview_09, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO NEXT, Art Chicago, Chicago, Illinois, (Bruno David Gallery) Controlled Chaos, Bruno David Gallery, St. Louis, MO OVER_VIEW 08, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Painters from Saint Louis, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO

2007 2006 2005 2003 2002 2001 2000 1999 1998

On Paper, Bruno David gallery, St. Louis, MO Overview, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, Missouri Inaugural Exhibition, Bruno David Gallery, Saint Louis, MO Once Upon A Time, Greenlease Gallery, Rockhurst University, Kansas City, MO Group Show, Webster University, St. Louis, MO Group Exhibition, Ohr O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi, MS Group Exhibition, Southern Illinois University, Edwardsville, IL Thesis Show, Indiana University Museum, Bloomington, IN Group Show, S.O.F.A. Gallery, Bloomington, IN Group Show, Parsons School of Design in Paris, Paris, France Group Show, S.O.F.A. Gallery, Bloomington, IN Summer Show, Yale at Norfolk, Norfolk, CT

BIBLIOGRAPHY Ramsey, Meagan A. Yood, James. Lyons, Vara Cooper, Ivy Baran, Jessica Weant, Nancy K. Stouffer, Lindsey. Miller, Rob. Cooper, Ivy. Bonetti, David. Crone, Tomas. Beall, Hugh. Miller, Rob. Beall, Hugh.

“Kelley Johnson: Works on Paper”, Bruno David Gallery Publications, Catalogue, Essay, 2011 “Kelley Johnson”, Bruno David Gallery Publications, Catalogue, Essay, 2010 “Kelley Johnson: Recent Paintings”, Bruno David Gallery Publications, Catalogue, Essay, 2010 “Johnson’s work demands attention”, St. Louis Beacon, September 13, 2010 “Recession Rejuvenations”, Riverfront Times, St. Louis, MO, August 25, 2010 “2007 St. Louis Painters”, Review Magazine, Kansas City, 2007 “Kelley Johnson: Dreaming”, Bruno David Gallery Publications, Catalogue, Essay, 2007 “’Over hung’ show or ‘Hung over’ critic?” Saintlouisart, November 17, 2005. “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Riverfront Times, November 9, 2005. “Bruno David Gallery”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, November 9, 2005 “Bruno David to Open on Friday”, 52nd City, October 2005 “The Bruno buzz”, West End Word, October 26, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Saintlouisart, October 25, 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, Illusion Junkie, October 25, 2005. Web

Griffin, Bill. Bonetti, David. Sieloff, Alison. Bonetti, David. Murphy, Anne.

“Kelley Johnson” Video Interview. http://illusionjunkie.blogspot.com. October 2005 “Bruno David Gallery: Inaugural Exhibition”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 20, 2005 “Grand Grand Center”, Riverfront Times, October 19, 2005 “Gallery musical chairs”, St. Louis Post Dispatch, October 1, 2005 “Art News”, The Healthy Planet, September 2005

ARTISTS Margaret Adams Dickson Beall Laura Beard Elaine Blatt Martin Brief Lisa K. Blatt Shawn Burkard Bunny Burson Carmon Colangelo Alex Couwenberg

Damon Freed William Griffin Joan Hall Takashi Horisaki Kim Humphries Kelley Johnson Howard Jones (Estate) Chris Kahler Bill Kohn (Estate) Leslie Laskey

Patricia Olynyk Robert Pettus Gary Passanise Daniel Raedeke Chris Rubin de la Borbolla Frank Schwaiger Charles Schwall Christina Shmigel Thomas Sleet Buzz Spector

Jill Downen Yvette Drury Dubinsky Corey Escoto Beverly Fishman

Sandra Marchewa Peter Marcus Genell Miller

Lindsey Stouffer Cindy Tower Mario Trejo Ken Worley

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