Introduction of the artist:

Tim JOHNSON(Australia)

Born in 1947, Sydney, Australia. Lives and
works in Sydney.
Selected solo exhibitions: 2010 Emulation, Dominik Mersch Gallery, Sydney; 2009 Painting Ideas, Art Gallery of N.S.W. Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia; 2003 Karyn Lovegrove Gallery, Los Angeles; 2001 Lord Mori Gallery, Los Angeles; 1994 Glasgow Museum, UK; 1988  Richard Pomeroy Gallery, London; 1971 Nova Scotia College of Art, Halifax, Canada; 1970 Off the Wall, Gallery A, Sydney;
Selected group exhibitions: 2012 18th Biennale of Sydney; 2008 Open Air: Portraits in the Landscape, National Portrait Gallery, Canberra, Australia; 2000 Flight Patterns, MOCA, Los Angeles; 1994 Antipodean Currents, Guggenheim Museum, New York; 1992 Documenta 9, Kassel, Germany.

Tim Johnson is primarily concerned with the communication of unseen phenomena, visionary in his apprehension of spiritual dimensions through artistic practice. His style of painting is eclectic in the extreme,owing much to Australian aboriginal traditions of the Central Desert – developed to convey narratives in landscape that are invisible to the uninitiated – and populated by the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Native Americans as well as aboriginal figures, Tibetan monks, Vietnamese farmers, extra-terrestrials and Christian worthies. They co-exist in fields of dots and circles, or float across shimmering colour, to exemplify a fundamental understanding that is at once humanist and conceptual.

Introduction of works:

Tim Johnson and Nava Chapman, Indivisible Painting (10 panels), acrylic on linen, 183×60 cm each, 2012, courtesy: Milani Gallery and Tolarno Galleries

Tim Johnson and Daniel Bogunovic, UFOs per se (44 small canvases), acrylic on canvas, 20.3×15.2 cm, 2008-2012, photo courtesy: Dominik Mersch gallery

Tim Johnson is primarily concerned with the communication of unseen phenomena, visionary in his apprehension of spiritual dimensions through artistic practice. His style of painting is eclectic in the extreme, owing much to Australian aboriginal traditions of the Central Desert - developed to convey narratives in landscape that are invisible to the uninitiated – and populated by the Buddha, Bodhisattvas, Native Americans as well as aboriginal figures, Tibetan monks, Vietnamese farmers, extra-terrestrials and Christian worthies. They co-exist in fields of dots and circles, or float across shimmering colour, to exemplify a fundamental proposition that is at once humanist and conceptual.

Concerning the diversity of cultural influences on his work, Johnson explains, “Like a poem, every part doesn’t have to be logical or located in the same time-space continuum. A painting can create a fragmented reality that is interpreted by the viewer. Everyone sees things differently anyway. I create a collage of imagery in the work – fragmented like life itself.” This is concomitant with an enthusiasm for artistic collaboration, whereby he often invites others to contribute directly to his canvases. They might be members of his family, Australian aboriginal
painters such as Turkey Tolson Tjupurrula or Clifford Possum Tjapaltjarri, or the American-based artist Daniel Bogunovic who specialises in flying saucers and cartoon characters.