Helen Johnson (born 1979) is an Australian artist producing large-scale paintings who also works as a lecturer, researcher and curator. Her artworks and practice reflect her views on colonialism, consumerism, the environment and personal accountability.
She has held solo exhibitions in Sydney, Melbourne, London, New York, Los Angeles and Glasgow, been shown in group exhibitions in London and Melbourne, published her research on painting and contemporary art and curated several exhibitions.
Education and career
Johnson earned a PhD (Fine Art), at Monash University, Melbourne in 2014 and a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting (Hons), at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology, Melbourne in 2002.
She painted from when she was a schoolgirl but became a professional artist and exhibited from about 2006. Her group exhibitions include A Year In Art: Australia 1992, Tate, London, 2021; Painting. More Painting at the Australian Centre for Contemporary Art, Melbourne, 2016; TarraWarra Biennial: Endless Circulation at the TarraWarra Museum of Art, Victoria, 2016; Pleasure and Reality at the National Gallery of Victoria, 2015; In my absence at Galerie Jocelyn Wolff, Paris, 2015; June: A Painting Show at Sadie Coles, London, 2015; Care at Interstate Projects, New York, 2015.
Johnson has held several solo exhibitions in Australia and internationally including Warm Ties which travelled from the Institute of Contemporary Arts, London to Chapter Arts House, Cardiff and Artspace Sydney over 2017–2018. Other solo shows are Pieces of Work at Château Shatto, Los Angeles, 2021; Agency at Pilar Corrias, London, 2019; Ends at the New Museum, New York, 2017; and Barron Field in the 2016 Glasgow International.
Her paintings have been described as blending "figuration and abstraction, by representing people, animals and objects from the past in full and in fragments or silhouettes" and "often large-scale, stylistically changeable and loose-hanging".
Johnson is a lecturer in the Department of Fine Arts, Monash University.
References
- ^ "Helen Johnson". Monash University. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ National Gallery of Australia (2020). Know My Name. Canberrra, ACT. ISBN 978-0-642-33487-9. OCLC 1143495525.
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: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link) - "The Brutal Art". Art Guide Australia. 10 January 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Stolen Australia: the ferocious anti-colonial art of Helen Johnson". the Guardian. 27 January 2017. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Helen Johnson – the MCA and Tate International Joint Acquisition Program | Stories & ideas | MCA Australia". www.mca.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- ^ "Artists | The National". www.the-national.com.au. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- Backhouse, Megan (21 March 2006). "Windows into Johnson's world". The Age: 14 Metro.
- ORCID. "Helen Jennifer Johnson (0000-0003-2799-399X)". orcid.org. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- "Helen Johnson". Monash University. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- "Painting is a Critical Form". Artlink Magazine. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- "Vault · Australasian Art & Culture Magazine · Issue 13 · Helen Johnson". www.vaultmagazine.com. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
- "June: A Painting Show". Sadie Coles HQ. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "IN MY ABSENCE". www.galeriewolff.com. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Pleasure & Reality | NGV". www.ngv.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "TarraWarra Biennial 2016: Endless Circulation". TarraWarra Museum of Art. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Australian Centre for Contemporary Art". acca.melbourne. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- Tate, London. "What's On: A year in art: Australia 1992". tate.org.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- Digital, Atlas. "Warm Ties | Helen Johnson". ArtSpace. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Helen Johnson: Warm Ties". Art Almanac. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Warm Ties". Keir Foundation. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Barron Field – Mary Mary". www.marymarygallery.co.uk. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Helen Johnson". Glasgow international. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Helen Johnson: Ends". www.newmuseum.org. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- "Helen Johnson: Agency". Pilar Corrias. Retrieved 7 March 2021.
- White, Katie (9 December 2019). "5 Artists With Can't-Miss Shows You Can See Around the World This December". Artnet News. Retrieved 20 February 2022.
- "Helen Johnson Pieces of Work | Chateau Shatto". Retrieved 14 October 2023.
External links
- Helen Johnson CV
- Monash University profile Archived 23 April 2021 at the Wayback Machine
- Warm ties exhibition
- Interview and images of paintings in Phaidon