Current Exhibition

CLAY JOHNSON

New Paintings

January 7 - February 21, 2020

Gallery Reception with the Artist
January 11, 2020
2:00 - 5:30 pm

Clay Johnson is a process artist. The content of his painting is only partially controlled by his conscious intent. Driven by the unfolding nature of his process, he begins by pulling horizontal bands of color across the surface of a work. Multiple layers of paint are built up. At the end of the painting process he sands through the manifold layers revealing to a varying degree the layers underneath. The result is atmospheric, luminous burnished surface of extremely complex color combinations that are somewhat shaped by the wide open prairie landscape of the American west with multiple horizon lines and implied foregrounds.

Clay was born in 1964 in Durham, North Carolina. He studied painting and art history at Duke University receiving a BA in 1985. For several years he was the studio assistant for the prominent American painter, Robert Natkin in New York City. Johnson frequently exhibited his work in New York as well as San Francisco and Washington DC. For the last several years Johnson has lived in Laramie, Wyoming painting full time.

Mr. Johnson was a finalist for the prestigious Luxembourg Prize in 2019 and exhibited there at the Pinacotheque, Luxembourg City, Luxembourg. This is his second solo exhibition with the gallery.