OHT Gallery Boston

Previous Exhibits

Saturation

Heidi Johnson

September 5 - 27, 2003
Reception: Friday, September 5, 5:30 - 7:30 pm

O·H+T gallery is pleased to open its Fall 2003 season with Saturation, an exhibition of paintings by Heidi Johnson. Included in the 2003 Traveling Scholars Exhibition at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, Johnson's large, lush still lifes are influenced by a melange of Eastern and Western visual traditions, while maintaining the artist's own quirky aesthetic.

Johnson states that her imagery has its beginnings in the patterned surface design she encountered throughout India and most of Southeast Asia. On the streets, in markets and temples, the hand painted signage and deities she discovered used a visual language rich in abstract symbolism. This appropriation of everyday imagery and objects to communicate allegorical themes is clearly seen in Johnson's paintings, where she uses everything from orchids to Chihuahuas to convey her ironic messages.

The influence of Dutch still-life painting is also evident in Johnson's work. Wavy Gravy, a densely layered arrangement of fruit, butterflies, and fauna seen through large, bubble-like orbs, clearly shows Johnson's love of exotic subject matter and Baroque painting. Drawing a parallel between the leap of faith required in accepting this excessive work, and our willingness to accept the often bizarre images and information we encounter in our daily lives, Johnson gives the traditional genre of still life painting contemporary relevance.

Heidi Johnson is a New York artist who teaches at the New School University in Manhattan. She has a BFA from Tufts University and a diploma from the School of the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, where she was also a Traveling Scholar. Her work has been exhibited in Boston, New York, and London, and she has been awarded the Marie Walsh Sharpe Foundation Studio Program Grant for emerging artists. This is her first exhibition at O·H+T gallery.