The Remains | Acrylic on Canvas | 35" x 48" | 2016
Artist Statement: My paintings portray compressed and bustling spaces and are inspired by anything––from films and books to travel and memories. I develop the paintings using a compilation of unrelated images taken from photographs that are either shot on location or found through Internet research. As part of this process, I make digital sketches of the composition, using Photoshop to answer some of my initial questions concerning space and color.
In the work, I incorporate hard edges and exaggerated perspectives to enhance the architectural characteristics of the forms I’m depicting. Many of the paintings also retain traces of the washy, drippy marks of the underpainting, exposing my process while providing a contrast between the initial translucent layers and the more opaque shapes and brushwork that lie on top. I’m interested in how this build-up of history on the surface of the paintings reflects the complex reality and slightly fictionalized spaces I’m representing.
Anders Johnson lives in Vincennes, Indiana, where he also teaches drawing and painting at Vincennes University. An art graduate from North Park University (Chicago), he holds an MFA from Indiana University and has recently appeared in the 2016 Midwest edition of New American Paintings. His work is in the collection of the Evansville Art Museum and Doane College and has had recent solo exhibitions at Wabash Valley College and the Open Gallery in Vincennes. Johnson is currently building a body of work to be exhibited during two solo exhibitions in the fall of 2017 at Oakland City University and North Park University.