Christina Johnson
Christina Johnson
Christina was most recently featured in our 2024 Summer Feature Exhibit
Christina was featured in American Art Collector magazine’s June 2024 issue.
Images above are from Christina’s 2024 Summer Feature Exhibit
Images below are from Christina’s 2021 Spotlight Exhibit
Images below are from Christina’s 2019 Spotlight Exhibit
Christina Johnson was born in Johnstown, New York, a small town outside of Albany, New York. The State University of New York in Potsdam awarded Christina her Bachelor of Art in Studio Art and her State of New York Teaching Certification in the Area of Art in May of 2006. She continued her education at SUNY Potsdam, completing a research thesis pertaining to the integration of the arts into the regular classroom setting. She was awarded her Master of Science in Education for the area of Curriculum and Instruction in August of 2007. In 2009 Christina was accepted to the Graduate Painting and Drawing Program at Louisiana State University in 2009. She was awarded her Master of Fine Arts in Studio Art in 2011. Christina has taught foundational arts courses at Corning Community College and 171 Cedar Arts, and worked as the Museum Educator at the Arnot Art Museum. Christina works at The ARTS Council of the Southern Finger Lakes and maintains her studio practice in Elmira, New York.
Summer Feature Exhibit: Celebrating the Creative Journey
Artist’s Statement
“Each day I observe. That’s the goal, to experience the beauty in simple, seemingly mundane moments. I use oil paint as a vehicle to figure out how the things that capture my attention glow; to discover their stories and express narratives that run parallel to human experience. The follies and hardships, the foibles, the lessons, and sweet stories of relationships in love, friendship, and family. I have become less attached to filling the surface of a panel, allowing each visible painted layer to echo the shape of memory – the pieces of a story either pulled close and magnified – held dear, or pushed back and skimmed over. Thick paint, saturated color, and sure marks aid in my discovery of the rich complexity, symbolism, and mythology of food and flowers, while exploring the deeper personal narratives that can be developed within each painting.”
“I began working in oil paint after an extended hiatus in 2015, I knew one of the most important components to developing a successful practice was play. To renew a daily practice with oil paint I started by playing with time. Thirty-second impressions of simple objects, ten-minute observations, thirty-minute studies—all wiped off the panel. These games served to rebuild comfort with paint-handling, glazing materials, and to redevelop the ability to portray volume and value in paint. Over time, I invested more time into single daily experiences with paint. I’m drawn to still-life paintings of food and flowers, and the narrative qualities I can develop within those compositions. Memories and experiences surrounding the connection of food and family, trips to open air markets, and the experimentation with new recipes have become a gateway to furthering my exploration and discovery of the properties of paint, color, light and texture. Working at an intimate scale has become a vehicle to establishing a system of consistent, meaningful self-critique and to create an intermingling of memory and new experiences.”
About “Little Piggy”
“I’m a perpetual still-life collector. While I was in Baton Rouge, LA about ten years ago, a couple had just moved in together and was holding a garage sale to let go of their overflow items. Little Piggy was among the items for sale and the original owner had clearly made a reluctant concession to let go of her. She had obviously made it through several moves and transitions; she needed a bath and still sits at an odd angle from having one of her legs reattached. It took seven years for her to start appearing in my paintings and once she made an appearance in my daily painting narratives she never left. Recently, she seemed to want a friend posse. I fell in love with works found locally – Queen Mossandra is a moss green piggy bank created by ceramicist Autumn Hargrove and Lady Lula is a glass work found at Vitrix on Market St. They each sing with their own personalities and stories yet to be told. They also seem to inspire greater adventurousness and bravery within Little Piggy. I can’t wait to see where these new friends lead me!”