Erick Johnson
Artist Statement:
Working primarily in oil on canvas and paper, the focus of my work is structuring color. I start with geometric forms and build dragged, striated layers of paint within the forms, wiping and adjusting as I go. This process leaves visible traces of earlier decisions and highlights the tension between the structure and the psychological and emotional dimensions of the color relationships.
My work draws on the history of abstraction, from its investigation of pure form and color to its openness to chance and process. Color relationships, edges, and the physical qualities of oil paint guide each composition. I’m interested in how small shifts– in color combinations especially— can change the entire character of a painting. My goal is to create work that is open to interpretation, where viewers connect through their own experiences. Each piece is both a finished image and a record of the act of painting itself.
Artist Biography:
Erick Johnson was born in San Francisco in 1959 and lives and works in New York City. He studied at the School of Visual Arts before earning a BA from Empire State College and an MFA from the Milton Avery Graduate School for the Arts at Bard College. Johnson has shown nationally & internationally and has had recent solo shows in 2025 at Furnace/Art on Paper Archive in Connecticut; in 2023 at Kathryn Markel Fine Art; and the Brattleboro Museum in Vermont in 2021. Johnson’s recent work has been reviewed in the Brooklyn Rail and The Washington Post. Fellowship awards include the Vermont Studio Center, the Virginia Center for the Arts, and the Lacoste School of Art in France. He is represented by: Neptune Fine Art in Washington DC, Kathryn Markel Fine Art in New York City, Furnace Gallery in Connecticut and Bernay Fine Art in Great Barrington, MA.
AAA:
Member Since: 2023
Treasurer: 2024 to present
