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Artist: Dion Johnson ( United States, 1975 - present ) -
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Biography: Dion Johnson treats the canvas as a stage, where he places collected images to create autobiographical narratives. Described by Ken Johnson of the New York Times as an artist who " combines thick paint - troweled, combed, smeared and dribbled - schematic diagrams of machinery, furniture and architecture and neatly painted images in a child's picture book style to dreamy and sensuous effect."
Los Angeles Times art critic David Pagel writes that Johnson's straightforward yet far from simplistic works "invite one-on-one interactions, inciting viewers to behave in a variety of ways.... In every case, Johnson's unguarded yet well heeled paintings hit us where we live.... Johnson's levelheaded works simply set your eyes in motion. Gliding across variously applied swoops, swishes, and smears of paint, your optical organs gain speed, momentum, and energy as you rediscover what it's like to see the ordinary stuff of everyday life anew -- with the fresh-eyed enthusiasm of the first time."
Johnson discovers the extraordinary that can be found within the ordinary. Says Pagel, "Johnson's refreshingly accessible pictures put the Pop back into populist."
Originally from Bellaire, Ohio, Dion Johnson received his BA from Ohio State University and MA from Claremont University. The artist lives and works in Los Angeles and has been represented by the Rebecca Ibel Gallery since 1997.
A catalogue of the exhibition 'Expanding Horizons', 2000, with a complete text by David Pagel, is available.
1975
Born Bellaire, Ohio.
2000
Master of Fine Arts, Claremont University, Claremont, California
1997
Bachelor of Fine Arts, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio
Lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
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Exhibition History: Solo Exhibitions
2004
'Wow and Flutter,' Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
2002
'Popsicle Senarios,' Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
'Softer Frequencies,' Richard Heller Gallery, Los Angeles, California
2001
Bill Maynes Gallery, New York.
2000
Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio (catalogue)
Claremont University (MFA exhibition), Claremont, California
1999
'Flying Cars,' Peggy Phellps Gallery, Claremont, California
1998
Rebecca Ibel Gallery (Ibel Simeonov), Columbus, Ohio
ROY G BIV, Columbus, Ohio
1997
Columbus State Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Exposures Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Selected Group Exhibitions
2003
'Ten Years in Columbus, Part 1,' Rebecca Ibel Galery, Columbus, Ohio
2001
'Summertime 2001, Part 2,' Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
'Informants,' The Harris Art Gallery, The University of La Verne: La Verne, California
Art Chicago, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
'Homage: Roland Reiss,' Claremont Alumni Show, Center for the Arts, Claremont, California
'Cross-pollination,' curated by Susan Joyce, The Holland Tunnel, Brooklyn, New York
2000
'Currencies,' Patricia Correia Gallery, Santa Monica, California
San Francisco International Art Exposition, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, San Francisco, California
Art Chicago, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
'New American Talent, 15th Exhibition,' curated by David Pagel, The Jones Center for Contemporary Art, Austin, Texas and traveling through 2001 to Shore Art Gallery, Abilene, Texas; Texarkana Regional Arts and Humanities Council, Texarkana, Texas; Buddy Holly Center, Lubbock, Texas; Fire House Gallery, Del Rio, Texas
1999
'Emerging Artists in Ohio,' Sandusky Cultural Center, Sandusky, Ohio
Art Chicago, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Chicago, Illinois
San Francisco International Art Exposition, Rebecca Ibel Gallery, San Francisco, California
1998
'Booth,' First Year Graduate Exhibition,' Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, California
1997
'Ohio,' Rebecca Ibel Gallery (Ibel Simeonov), Columbus, Ohio
'Exhibition 280,' Huntington Museum of Art, Huntington, West Virginia
'85th Annual Spring Juried Exhibition,' Columbus Art League, Columbus, Ohio
'Edith-Fergus Gilmore Awards Exhibition,' Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
'From the Sketchbook of,' Columbus Art League, Columbus, Ohio
'Christmas Extravaganza,' Acme Art Company, Columbus, Ohio
1996
'Rumplestiltskin,' Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
85th Annual Fall Juried Exhibition, Columbus Art League, Columbus, Ohio
The Third Annual Juried Art Show, The Unicorn Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
Yale Norfolk Student Exhibition, Norfolk, Connecticut
Undergraduate Juried Exhibition, Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus,Ohio
1995
'Media Arts Extravaganza,' Silver Image Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
'Everyone's Art Show,' Ogelbay Fine Arts Institute, Wheeling, West Virginia
'Gravity Fed,' Hopkins Hall Gallery, Columbus, Ohio
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Collections: Selected Private Collections
Pizzuti, Inc., Columbus, Ohio
Selected Public Collections
The Columbus Museum of Art, Columbus, Ohio
Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles, California
Progressive Corp., Mayfield Village, Ohio
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Bibliography: Bibliography
Scheiber, Curtis. "Dion Johnson, paintings that dogs and cats can understand," dialogue, January/February 2001, p. 28 (cover shot).
King, Joselyn. "Engineering background evident in former Bridgeport man's art," Wheeling News-Register, December 26, 2000 p. 21. Same article ran in The Intelligencer, Bridgeport, Ohio, December 26, 2000, p. 7.
Pagel, David. catalogue essay, "David Pagel on Dion Johnson," November 2000.
Hall, Jacqueline. exhibition review, The Columbus Dispatch, December 6, 1998.
Koeninger, Kay. exhibition review,The Columbus Dispatch, October 6, 1996.
King, Joselyn. exhibition review, The Intelligencer, Bridgeport, Ohio, Summer, 1996.
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