DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY: TIM JOHNSON 'OTHERKIN'

TIM JOHNSON ‘OTHERKIN’ 06.03 – 29.03.2014

DOMINIK MERSCH GALLERY is delighted to announce the third solo exhibition of eminent Sydney based artist Tim Johnson. Often described as ‘floating worlds,’ Tim Johnson’s extraordinarily powerful paintings embrace the spiritual iconography of a range of cultures including those of Aboriginal Australia, the Buddhist East and Native America.

‘Johnson’s paintings are landscapes of desire, images of impossible unity, imagined syntheses of cultural and visual systems that freely draw upon images whose meaning we do not necessarily recognise or understand,‘ wrote Linda Michael in 2001. The dot painting of Papunya, a Tibetan Thanka, Radio Birdman logos - all may find their place in the work of Tim Johnson. But there is nothing cynical about this bower-bird approach. His painting style, which is actually a mixture of styles, is influenced by these sources in both a technical and theoretical way. The paintings are hypothetical landscapes. Johnson frequently collaborates with artists from other spheres and has produced a number of works with Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, Karma Phuntsok, Me Li Thi and Brendan Smith.

This year marks a milestone of forty-four years exhibiting for Tim Johnson. His first solo exhibition was in 1970 and he has since featured extensively in Biennales and Documenta IX as well as a major survey exhibition ‘Tim Johnson: Painting Ideas’, in the Art Gallery of NSW, QAGOMA and The Ian Potter Museum, 2009, the Third Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art at Queensland Art Gallery and recently the exhibition ‘Australia’ at the Royal Academy of the Arts, London.

Artist Statement

This exhibition "Otherkin" takes a look at a world where people see themselves as other than human. As a concept, otherkin sums up the approach taken in the paintings, where the painting itself has multiple identities or points of view and is, to quote Rimbaud "an other".

The paintings are of the human world, but are also about another world. This is not a difficult concept. Buddhism for example offers a map of human consciousness with celestial possibilities and in most cultures deities have human characteristics but are predominately "awesome" to use an overused word.

When I paint there is a flood of imagery available to me as well as all the imagery that flows from painterly activity and the various processes and styles that I use. I choose imagery from many sources, sometimes at random, but usually when it parallels my own experiences. I look for images that portray the psychology and the excitement of looking into other worlds and offer a means of transcending the one we are in.

An artist doesn't need to be too descriptive when the paintings speak for themselves, but I feel that I am exploring possible representations of the human spirit, in a kind of virtual reality. So Buddhist, Daoist, Animist, an extra-terrestrial perspective and so on are bought together in this work. The dots though universal in many ways are an obvious acknowledgement of Western Desert art and stem from my many visits to Papunya in the 1980's and from my wish to be influenced by Aboriginal art without trespassing.

I still think painting is like music, where repetition and practice allows one to get inside and explore the world that is being created. In these paintings there is a world you can enter that's partly familiar, part of a vision and informed by conceptual, postmodern, eclectic and esoteric art.

Tim Johnson, 2014

‘The Vajra of the Earth’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 92 x62cm, with Daniel Bogunovic & Yimon Park, $4,400

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Otherkin’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 92 x 61cm, with Karma Phuntsok and Yiwon Park, $4,400 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘From a Memory Lost’, 2012, giclee print, edition of 5 + 1a.p., 92 x 61cm, unframed, $1,200 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘White Tara’, 2013, acrylic/linen, 5 panels,183 x 61cm each, with Karma Phuntsok and Yiwon Park, $29,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘New Pureland 2’, 2014, acrylic/linen,183 x152cm, $16,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Piero’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 183 x 152cm, with Yiwon Park, $16,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘New Pureland 1’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 183 x 152cm, $16,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Enunciation 1’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 78 x101cm, $5,800

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Wind Dreaming’, 2014, giclee print, edition of 5 +1 a.p., 61 x 92cm, unframed, $1,200

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Indivisible Painting’, 2013, acrylic/linen, 10 panels, 183 x 61cm each, with Karma Phuntsok and Nava Chapman, $58,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘West Camp’, 2013, giclee print, edition of 5 + a.p., 92 x 61cm, unframed, $1,200

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Earthly Pureland’, 2014, acrylic/linen, 104 x 137cm, with Yiwon Park, $8,900

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Dyatlov Pass’, 2012, acrylic/linen, 132 x 198cm, $16,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Deity’, 2014, acrylic/canvas, 91 x 61cm, with Daniel Bogunovic and Yiwon Park, $4,400 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Tinderbox’, 2014, acrylic/canvas, 91 x 61cm, with Daniel Bogunovic and Yiwon Park, $4,400 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Ani Choying’, 2014, oil on canvas, 25 x 25cm, $1,000

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Hulk’, 2014, acrylic/canvas, 46 x 46cm, with Daniel Bogunovic, $2,200

Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

’CP’, 2013, oil on board, 45 x 50cm, $2,600 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

‘Radio Birdman’, 2013, 50 x 50cm, oil on board, $2,800 Terms of sale: 10% deposit on reservation. Balance on collection. Prices as of March 2014. All prices listed may change without notice. All prices include GST.

TIM JOHNSON

1947 Born in Sydney.

Lives and works in Sydney.

1966-70 Studied at the University of New South Wales and the University of Sydney.

1997-8 Australia Council Fellowship.

1999 Mosman Art Prize.

Sceggs Redlands Art Prize.

SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS

1970 Off the Wall, Gallery A, Sydney.

1971 Installation as Conceptual Scheme, Inhibodress, Sydney.

1972 Diary, Voyeur, Fittings, Disclosures, etc., Pinacotheca, Melbourne.

1973 University of Queensland, Brisbane.

1977 Gallery A, Sydney.

1979 Mori Gallery, Sydney.

1982 Wheel of Life, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

1984 The Drunken Boat, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

1985 Conceptual Painting, Union Street Gallery, Sydney.

1986 Esoteric Landscape, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Languish, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane.

1987 Papunya Revisited, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

1988 Richard Pomeroy Gallery, London.

1989 A Survey 1956-1989, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

1991 Armageddon, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Chapman Gallery, Canberra.

1992 Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Visualisation, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

1993 Shareware, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

Across Cultures, Ian Potter Gallery, University of Melbourne.

1994 Tim Johnson, Glasgow Museum, Glasgow.

Asia, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Chapman Gallery, Canberra.

1995 Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

Non La, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

4 Directions, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

1996 Chapman Gallery, Canberra.

1997 On The Internet, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

CD installation, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

1998

2000

2001 2002 2003

2004 2005

Alien Land, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

The Sources are Real, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Tim Johnson and Karma Phuntsok, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

What the Eye Knows, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

Collaborations, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Far out, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Pure Land, Chapman Gallery, Canberra.

Tim Johnson, Lord Mori Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. Presence, Paddington Uniting Church, Sydney, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Insignia, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne.

Threads of Destiny, Mori Gallery, Sydney, (with My Le Thi).

Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, LA, USA. Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Serindia, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Imitating Art, Tolarno Galleries, Melbourne

SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS

1973 Recent Australian Art, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

1979 Third Biennale of Sydney: European Dialogue, (Film program), Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

1983 Australian Perspecta ’83, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney.

1984 The Politics of Picturing, Institute of Modern Art and Tasmanian School of Art Gallery, Tasmania.

1985 Dot and Circle, Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne.

Close Remarks, Artspace, Sydney.

Two Worlds Collide: Cultural Convergence in Aboriginal and White Australian Art, Artspace, Sydney.

1986 Two Worlds, Lismore Regional Gallery.

Sixth Biennale of Sydney: Origins, Originality and Beyond, Art Gallery of New South Wales and Pier 2/3, Sydney.

Symbolism and Landscape, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney.

1987 Shadow of Reason, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane.

Young Australians, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne.

A New Romance, ANG, Drill Hall Gallery, Canberra.

1988 Creating Australia: 200 years of Art 1788-1988, AGSA, Adelaide.

Stories of Australian Art, Commonwealth Institute, London.

Contemporary Australian Art to China, state museums of Beijing, Wuhan, Shanghai, and Guangzhou.

1989 Inhibodress 1970-72, Institute of Modern Art, Brisbane.

1990 Paraculture, Artists Space, New York.

Art Frankfurt, Kunstmesse, Frankfurt.

Out of Asia, Heide Gallery, Melbourne and Regional Galleries.

L’Été Australien à Montpelier, Musee Fabre Galerie Saint Ravy, Montpelier, France.

Balance, Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane.

Art Dock, Noumea, New Caledonia.

1991 Chicago International Fine Art Fair, Chicago, USA. Off the Wall/In the Air: A Seventies Selection, Monash University Gallery, Melbourne.

Artists Make Books, Linden gallery, Melbourne.

Rivers, Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne.

1992 Documenta IX, Kassel, Germany.

International Contemporary Art Fair, Pacifico Yokohama. Exhibition Hall, Japan.

Domino I: Collaborations Between Artists, Ian Potter Gallery, Melbourne.

1992-3 Ninth Biennale of Sydney: The Boundary Rider, Art Gallery of New South Wales and Bond Store 3/4, Sydney.

1993 Wits End, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney.

Art Frankfurt, Messe Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany.

Art Cologne, Koln Messe, Cologne, Germany.

Luminaries, Monash University, Melbourne.

Inaugural Exhibition, Museum of Modern Art at Heide, Melbourne.

1993-4 Identities: Art from Australia, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taiwan; Wollongong City Gallery and Gold Coast City Art Gallery, Surfers Paradise, Queensland.

1994 Light and Movement, Museum Contemporary Art, Sydney.

25 Years of Performance Art in Australia, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney.

1995 

Antipodean Currents, Guggenheim Museum, New York Asia & Oceania Influence, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney.

1996 Hidden Treasures II, S.H. Erwin Gallery, Sydney.

Colonial, Post-Colonial, Museum of Modern Art, Heide, Melbourne.

Art Cologne, Cologne Germany.

Australia: Familiar and Strange, Seoul Arts Centre, Korea.

1997 Spirit + Place, MCA Sydney.

Objects + Ideas, MCA, Sydney.

Plastic Fantastic, MCA, Sydney.

Inside, University of Kassel, Kassel, Germany.

Similar, (with My Le Thi) 4A Gallery, Sydney.

Dead Sun, AGNSW, Sydney.

MacCaughey Prize exhibition, NGV. 1998 Mingling of Cultures, ANG, Canberra.

Crossing Boundaries, (with Zen Yipu and My Le Thi), The Drill Hall, ANU, Canberra.

Wilderness Society Exhibition, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Verve, S.H. Erwin Gallery, Sydney.

Commonwealth Art, Malaysia.

Be Seeing You: one night of video, Mori Gallery, Sydney.

Dylan, Tim Johnson and Greg Weight, Michael Nagy Fine Art, Sydney.

1998-9 Ways of Being, Ivan Dougherty Gallery, Sydney, and touring Australia.

1999 Tolarno Galleries, Perth Festival, Perth.

We are Australian, National Touring Exhibition, Melbourne.

Bright and Shining, 4A Gallery, Sydney.

Bright and Shining, Tokyo, Australian Embassy, Tokyo.

Global Arts link inaugural exhibition, Ipswich, Queensland.

Chicago Art Fair, Chicago, USA. The Rose Crossing, Queensland Art Gallery; Hong Kong Arts Centre, Hong Kong.

What John Berger Saw, ANU, and touring.

The Chartwell Collection, Auckland Art Gallery, New Zealand.

APT, Brisbane, Queensland.

2000 The Rose Crossing, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore; S.H. Ervin Gallery, Sydney; Campbelltown City Bicentennial Art Gallery, Sydney.

Restricting to Palette, Colour and Land, Canberra.

With Daniel, Los Angeles, USA. From Appreciation to Appropriation, Adelaide Arts Festival, Adelaide.

Project 2/2000, an affiliated exhibition of Biennale of Sydney, The University of Sydney, Sydney.

Flight Patterns, MOCA, Los Angeles, USA. Expressions of Faith, Shenpen Australia, Vaucluse, NSW.

2001

The Mandala Project, Gallery 4A, Asian Australian Arts Centre, Sydney, NSW. 3 Views of Emptiness, Monash University, Victoria.

Art/Music: rock, pop, techno, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW. Buddha Radiant Awakening, Art Gallery of NSW, Yab Yum, Contemporary Project.

Shenpen2, Melbourne.

Viet Nam Voices, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne.

Absolut L.A. International Biennial Art Invitational, Los Angeles, USA. 2001 The Mandala Project, Gallery 4A, Asian Australian Arts Centre, Sydney, NSW. 3 Views of Emptiness, Monash University, Victoria.

Art/Music: rock, pop, techno, Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney, NSW. Buddha Radiant Awakening, Art Gallery of NSW, Yab Yum, Contemporary Project.

Shenpen2, Melbourne.

Viet Nam Voices, Melbourne Museum, Melbourne.

Absolut L.A. International Biennial Art Invitational, Los Angeles, USA. 2001-2 ‘So you wanna be a rock star’, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra.

2002 Imaging Identity and Place, Grafton Regional Gallery, and touring NSW. John Stringer Points of View, UTS Art Collection, UTS Gallery, NSW. Sulman Prize, AGNSW. Dalai Lama, Melbourne.

White, Bellas Gallery, Brisbane.

Contemporary Portraiture.

Lord Mori Gallery, Los Angeles, USA. 2003 MCA Unpacked II, MCA, NSW. Fieldwork: Australian Art 1968-2002, NGV, Victoria.

Parallel Worlds, Tim Johnson and My Le Thi, UTS Gallery, NSW. Art and about Sydney Council Visual art event, Sydney.

2004 The State of Art Peace, Manly Art Gallery, and touring NSW.

COLLECTIONS Allen Allen & Hemsley Fairfax Collection Griffiths University MOCA Brisbane Monash University The Joseph Brown Collection The Kerry Stokes Collection UNSW All Australian state galleries and the ANG Private collections in Australia and overseas

TALKS 1988 ICA London.

Sydney University, Sydney.

1993 AGNSW. 1995 Queensland University.

UNSW. 1998 ANG. Ivan Dougherty Gallery.

1999 Sydney University, Sydney.

Canberra School of Art, ANU. Dubbo Gallery, Dubbo, NSW. Tokyo Australian Embassy.

2000 Sydney University, Sydney.

AGNSW, ‘Conversation with Artists’.

2004 QLD Gallery, Brisbane.

TEACHING

1993 Guest Lecture, Northern Territory University, Darwin.

1994 Residential Landscape Workshop, Flying Art School, Lake Julius, Queensland.

1998 Electronic Identities in East Asia Workshop, ANU, Canberra.

1999 Visiting Fellow, Canberra School of Art, ANU. Ways of Being Workshop, Dubbo, NSW. 2000 Sydney University, Sydney.

2001-3 Sydney College of the Arts, Sydney.