Project 210 Gallery DION JOHNSON

• The Shadow Series is comprised of intimate works on paper incorporating watercolor, colored pencil and acrylic paint. The layered atmosphere of the Shadow Series fuses a luminous understructure with an open-ended narrative. Multiple linear drawings of owls, scuba gear, flowers, architecture and other subjects are deftly laid down in neon-like colors, atop fields of vertical stripes. The Vista Series includes larger acrylic paintings on canvas featuring abutted vertical bands of translucent color. The compositions can be read as landscapes, with bold, optimistic hues organized in surprising combinations. Balanced with curved and canted transitions, these hard-edged paintings sway and stretch across the canvas. The artist’s subtle applications of paint cause a glowing effect, softening the stark designs and drawing the viewer into their illusive depths.

Dion Johnson is represented by Rebecca Ibel Gallery, Columbus, Ohio. Additional solo exhibitions include those at Carl Berg Gallery, Los Angeles and Stefan Stux Gallery, New York. Dion Johnson received his BFA from Ohio State University and his MFA from Claremont Graduate University. Also a curator, he is the director of the Harris Gallery at University of La Verne where he is on the faculty of the Department of Art and Art History. Born in Bellaire, Ohio, Dion Johnson currently lives and works in Los Angeles.