Mitchell Johnson’s paintings are in the permanent collections of 40 museums in the United States and Europe. His work incorporates imagery but is ultimately formal rather than allegorical. The colors and shapes are the focus as art critic Peter Selz noted in a Smithsonian Archives of American Art interview: “Johnson makes realist paintings that are basically abstract paintings and abstract paintings that are figurative.”
Dusk (North Truro), 2025, oil on canvas, 14 x 18 in.
The artist says, “People think I am painting on the outside, but I am painting on the inside. My paintings are talking about the act of painting, about how color behaves. I am far more interested in artists like Philip Guston and Giorgio Morandi than realists like Eakins and John Singer Sargent. There is a gorgeous mysterious light in my 2025 painting Dusk (North Truro), but I would argue that the painting is not about realism or time of day or sense of place. It’s about the act of looking, the relationship between the artist and the painting itself.”
Alta Plaza (Ventimiglia), 2025, oil on canvas, 20 x 24 in.
Joan Ludman, author of the Fairfield Porter Catalogue Raisonne, wrote in 2014, “Color, color relationships, pattern and form are the hallmarks of Mitchell Johnson’s achievement. Contemplating the growth and movement of his efforts over the years, we experience his intent, instinct and intuition.”
Red Stairwell (Paris), 2025, oil on canvas, 16 x 24 in.
Johnson will be featured in several solo shows in March, two in San Francisco and a third in Paris at Galerie Mercier. Visit the artist’s website for details. —
Want to See More?
(650) 537-1493 | www.mitchelljohnson.com
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