Chris Johanson
Rooted in San Francisco's Mission Street community, Chris Johanson engages in his work with issues of urban realism and the aesthetic of the streets. Born in 1968, the artist moves in his work among the realms of graffiti, a comic-strip style, and street art. Street credibility is thus a key foundation of Johanson's work. The sculptural environments he creates thus break the limits of painting and installations.
Influenced by conceptualism and the figurative painting of the Bay Area School, the self-taught artist developed his own style in painting skateboards and surfboards and buildings. The urban observations that come together in this work are still the source for Johanson's political and social commentary, anti-war slogans, and critique of consumerism.
The post-punk aesthetic following a do-it-yourself principle generates an urban rustic quality—a conglomerate of shiny surfaces of recycled materials represents the human need for balance and harmony. On the surface, humorous drawings in which a deeply socially critical and tragic component inheres, are sensitive snap shots, and serve as an instrument to present the negative and positive aspects of post-modern, globalize society. The self-proclaimed provincialism appears like a microcosm of the all-American way of life, globalized everyday life, where only irony seems possible: this is what constitutes the realities of the post-Fordist subject. In a humanistic manner, Johanson poses the question of utopia: the search for the ideal society, the ideal self.
The naïve-seeming drawings with simplified figures and comic strip dialogues communicate the absurdities of the self-alienated and therapized individual within rituals of conformity and marking distinctions. In thematic terms, his colorful, sketch-like pictures circle around visual and text formats, mental and social stability, the consumption of group ideology, community codes and ironic product labeling, based on a comic-strip ethics.
Johanson's reduced visual language, abstract surfaces, and simplified pop and op-art visual effects refer to social, state, and authoritarian structures. Through the conscious working with recycled materials and found pieces and location in public context, his sculptural works operate as a radically democratic gesture. "Art is really about sharing information and ideas ... that's more important than the artist" according to Johanson, who tries to move in a realm beyond egomaniacal artist positions, to give positive impulse. Always immanent to his installative art is his habitus as a noise-punk musician: live and intense!
Biography
born 1968 in San Francisco, lives and works in San Francisco
Selected Solo Exhibitions
2021
Solo Exhibition, Mitchell Innes & Nash, New York City
For the Birds, Harper’s East Hampton, NY
Summer Show, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
2019
Paintings, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
2018
Particulate Paper Poems, Albert Baronian, Brussels
Ruminations, Meditations and The Homeostasis, Altman Siegel Gallery, San Francisco
2017
Worms, Birds, People, and Air: The Art of Oh No and Dissociative Thinking, Soccer Club Club, Chicago
The Middle Riddle, Journal Gallery, Brooklyn (collaborative with Johanna Jackson) Possibilities, Mitchell Innes & Nash, New York City
Infused Paper, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
2016
Imperfect Reality with Figure and Challenging Abstraction, The Conversation, Berlin
House of Escaping Forms, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia (collaborative with Johanna Jackson)
2015
Equations, Altman Siegel Gallery, San Francisco
2014
Selfi(sh) Expression(ism), Portland Museum of Modern Art, Portland, OR
Continuity Escapes Me (My Selfishness in Los Angeles), Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
2013
Considering, The Modern Institute/Toby Webster Ltd., Glasgow
Within The River of Time Is My Mind, MOCA, Los Angeles
2012
Windows, Mitchell-Innes & Nash, New York
2011
Alright Alright, Malmö Konsthall, Malmö
This, This, This, That, Altman Siegel, San Francisco
2010
Not a waste of..., Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Wien
1991 to 2010 - I Was there, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Kopenhagen
Backwards Toward Forwards, Kavi Gupta, Chicago
The sound of energy in space, the space of energy in life, Schunck, Heerlen
2009
Chris Johanson – Jean Dubuffet, Baronian Francey, Brüssel
Continuality, Van Every/Smith Galleries, Davidson College, Davidson
2008
Totalities, Deitch Projects, New York
Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
2007
APEX: Chris Johanson, Portland Art Museum, Portland
Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Wien
Paulson Press, Berkley
The Incomplete, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
2006
Contemporary Landscapes, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago
I am in this weird area now, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Kopenhagen
I Can Feel It (Co-Exist In Modern Death): Alright!, Jack Hanley Gallery, Los Angeles
2005
SOLO SHOW SOLO SOUL, Baronian-Francey Gallery, Brüssel
2004
Problem Does Not Compute, The Modern Institute, Glasgow
Christophe Daviet-Thery, Paris
2003
This is where you are, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Wien
The More You Think About It, The More You Think About It More, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
SECA Award Show, SFMOMA, San Francisco
2002
Roberts & Tilton Gallery, Los Angeles
Many Ways, Roberts & Tilton Gallery, Los Angeles
Now is Now, Deitch Projects, New York
2001
Relationistism About Brownness, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Vedanta Gallery, Chicago
Bodybuilder and Sportsman Gallery, Chicago
Tracey Lawrence Gallery, Vancouver
2000
The Ourselves Festival, Alleged Fine Arts, New York
Le Nuage Brun (The Brown Cloud), Purple Institute, Paris
1998
All on Different Trips, Four Walls, San Francisco
SWP, Alleged Fine Arts, New York
1997
Ourlandia, Scene/Escena, San Francisco
1995
The Universe, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Sorry, Figure 5, San Francisco
1994
Fantasy Island (Life Span), Kiki, San Francisco
1990
Pictures and Words, Emmanuel Ratnitsky Found Objects, San Francisco
Selected Group Exhibitions
2021
Nature Morte, The Hole, New York, NY
Winter Dreams, The Kadist Foundation, San Francisco
2020
Perpetual Dawn, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
HUMAN IS A FIVE LETTER WORD, Galerie Droste, Wuppertal, Germany
Dreamscapes, Fort Makers, New York, NY
Freak Association, Delaplane, San Fransisco
Indie Folk: New Art from the Pacific Northwest, Adams and Ollman, Portland (Online)
A Perfect Day 2, Westergas, Amsterdam
2019
The Vans Joel Tudor Duct Tape Invitational & Festival, Rockaway Beach, Queens, NY
Another Music In a Different Kitchen: Studio Recordings & Records by Artists, Organized by Bob Nickas and Matt Shuster, Karma Bookstore, New York City
Operation Creative Freedom #2, Cerritos College: Fine Arts Gallery, Norwalk, CA
PAPER VIEW, The Hole, New York, NY
Double Negative, ChaShaMa, New York City
Dialogues #1 Baronian Xippas Brussels, Xippas Paris, Paris
Summer Show, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen
In The Hot Seat, KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY
The Thing Quarterly, Museum of Contemporary Art, Tokyo
2018
Keep Drawing and Be Happy, Albert Baronian/Yoko Uhoda Knokke, Brussels, Belgium
NOW & THEN: Beautiful Losers, Alleged Gallery & the 90s Lower East Side, The Hole, New York SHANZINI, Printed Matter, New York City
Magic, Roberts Projects, Culver City, CA
Digging for Diamonds in the Disco, Club Rhubarb, New York City
Reduction, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
Way Bay, BAMPFA, Berkeley, CA
Six Degrees of Separation, Spencer Museum of Art, Lawrence, Kansas
Concrete States of Animation, Loyal Gallery, Stockholm
7 X SPACE X TIME, Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Humlebæk
2017
We Construct Marvels, Portland Art Museum, Portland, OR (collaborative with Johanna Jackson)
Converge 45, Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR
What’s On Our Minds, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Copenhagen, Denmark
HOW ARE YOU DOING?, General Public Collective, Indianapolis, IN
The Human Form, John Berggruen Gallery, San Francisco
La mère la mer, McEvoy Foundation for the Arts, San Francisco
10th Anniversary, GALLERY TARGET, Tokyo
Epochal Aeration: Or, The Slow Hand, Fourteen30 Contemporary, Portland
ART OBJECTS FOR WILD BEASTS, Association Shop + Gallery, Portland
ILLEGAL, The Luggage Store, San Francisco
Chapters: Book Arts in Southern California, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles
2016
Outside, Karma, New York City (Curated by Matthew Higgs)
Magic Mountain, Museum of Contemporary Art Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara
Future Developments, David Petersen Gallery, Minneapolis, MN
2015
Words, Words, Words, Elizabeth Leach Gallery, Portland, OR A blur, a beautiful blurry blur, Galerie Karin Guenther, Hamburg
2014
Energy that is all around, Grey Art Gallery, New York University, New York
Texte in der Kunst, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
I was a double, Tang Museum and Art Gallery, Skidmore College, Saratoga Springs, NY Chris Johanson | Johanna Jackson, South Willard, Los Angeles
2013
Additive Abstraktion, curated by _Martin Prinzhorn, curated by_vienna 2013, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Vienna
My Crippled Friend, Canzani Center Gallery, Columbus College of Art and Design, Columbus, OH
More Love: Art, Politics, and Sharing Since the 1990s, curated by Claire Schneider, Ackland Art Museum, Chapel Hill, NC
Chris Johanson, Barry McGee, and Laurie Reid - (Almost) Free Formed: Celebrating Old Days and Hoping for New Times, San Francisco City College, San Francisco
2012
Creature from the Blue Lagoon, organized by Bob Nickas, Martos Gallery, Bridgehampton
Konzert: Sun Foot, Galerie Baronian Francey, Brüssel
2011
Le Printemps de September: Another World, Art Festival, Toulouse
Disorder Disorder, Penrith Regional Gallery, New South Wales
2010
Aktualität eines Mediums – Nader Ahriman bis Chen Zhen, Galerie Krinzinger, Wien
75 Years of Looking Forward , 75th Anniversary Show, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco
Draw, Museo De La Ciudad De Mexico, Mexico City
Wang Du, image gratuite, Galerie Baronian Francey, Brussels
Final San Francisco Show, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Transfer/Sao Paulo, Brazilian Cultural Pavilion – Ibirapuera Park, Sao Paulo
The Color of Black & White, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago
2009
LEARN TO READ ART: A HISTORY OF PRINTED MATTER (1976-2009), P.S.1 MoMA, Long Island
Kunstfehler – Fehlerkunst, Halle 14 Leipziger Baumwollspinnerei, Leipzig
A New York Minute, Depart Foundation, Rom
15 Years of New Image Art, New Image Art, Los Angeles
A Mind is a Terrible Thing to Waste, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Nothing is permanent, de Elektriciteitscentrale, Brüssel
LEARN TO READ ART: A History of Printed Matter (1976-2009), P.S.a MoMA, Queens
Failed Art. The Art of Failure, ACC Galerie, Weimar
2008
Ultramoderne, Passerelle, Brest
Anniversary Exhibition, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Kopenhagen
second_nature, Deixa BIL, Galerie Nosbaum & Reading, Luxemburg
Lots Of Things Like This / Dave Eggers, apexart, New York
Beautiful Losers: Arte actual y cultura urbana, La Casa Encendida, Madrid
2007
Pierogi Flatfiling - an interactive curatorial project, Artnews Projects, Berlin
The Incomplete, Chelsea Art Museum, New York
Fractured Figure, Deste Foundation, Athen
Silly Adults, Galleri Nicolai Wallner, Kopenhagen
Peachable Kingdom, Marella Gallery, Mailand
In the Fullness of Time: Celebrating Twenty Years, The Luggage Store, San Francisco
Very Abstract and Hyper Figurative, Thomas Dane Gallery, London
Sound Zero - Kunst und Musik vom Pop bis zur Street Art, Kunstforum, Halle
Euphorion - Art from San Francisco, Pierogi, Leipzig
Kinky Sex (Makes the World Go 'Round), Lizabeth Oliveria Gallery, Los Angeles
Panic Room - Works from The Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation, Athen
2006
Untitled (for H. C. Westermann), The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu
Fundstücke und Transit, Johnen + Schöttle, Köln
this talk we have, this talk we have had, this talk we have/have had, David Kordansky Gallery, Los Angeles
New Works, Kavi Gupta Gallery, Chicago
Having New Eyes, Aspen Art Museum, Aspen
Happiness / berlin biennale, 4th berlin biennial, Gagosian Gallery Berlin, Berlin
Panic Room - Works from The Dakis Joannou Collection, Deste Foundation Centre For Contemporary Art, Athen
Monuments for the USA, White Columns, New York
2005
Nach Rokytník, Die Sammlung der EVN, MUMOK, Wien
9th International Istanbul Biennial, Istanbul Foundation for Culture and Arts, Istanbul
Waters and Watercolours, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Wien
Good Timing, Georg Kargl Fine Arts, Wien
Looking at Words, Andrea Rosen Gallery, New York
Seventh Annual Altoids Curiously Strong Collection, New Museum of Contemporary Art, New York
Drunk vs. Stoned 2, Gavin Browns Enterprise GBE modern, New York
Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture, Contemporary Museum Baltimore, Baltimore
Monuments to the USA, CCA Wattis Institute for Contemporary Arts (Kent and Vicki Logan Galleries), San Francisco
VOLTAshow 01, ULTRA BRAG, Basel
With us against reality, or against us!, Galleri S.E., Bergen
The Early Show, White Columns, New York
Different Wavelengths, Tina Kim Fine Art, New York
2004
Majority Whip, White Box, New York
Beautiful Losers: Contemporary Art and Street Culture, Contemporary Arts Center, Cincinnati
Lo-Gressive Living, The Approach, London
2003
17 Reasons, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Somer Gallery, Tel Aviv
Israel Comic Release, Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
Flipping the Bird, Vox Populi, Philadelphia
Taqueria Cancun, Allston Skirt Gallery, Boston
2002
Whitney Biennale, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York
Museum Boymans van Beuningen, Rotterdam
Something, Anything, Matthew Marks Gallery, New York
2001
Untitled 2001, Spiral, Tokyo
Widely Unknown, Deitch Projects, New York
Wendy Cooper Gallery, Madison, Wisconsin
East meets West, Institute of Contemporary Art, Philadelphia
Hammond Museum, North Salem, New York
The Sensational Line, Museum of Contemporary Art, Denver
Jess Hilliard: an undying fascination for all animals, especially the cute ones, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco
The Portait Show, New Image Arts, Los Angeles
Paperview, Galerie Espacio Minimo, Madrid
2000
(extra)super[meta], Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Welcome to Our Community Everyone Here Loves God, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Pot O'Gold, Patrizia Outore Gallery, Melbourne
Rare, New York Collectors Choice, Exit Art, New York
Utopia, Jack Hanley Gallery, San Francisco
Deterritorialization of Process, Artist Space, San Francisco
1999
The Levels, La Panaderia, Mexico City
Scopic, San Jose Institute of Contemporary Art, San Jose
Coup d'Etat, Alleged Fine Arts, New York
Survivalists, Southern Exposure, San Francisco
The Levels, La Panaderia, Mexico City
Museum Pieces, De Young Museum, San Francisco
On Paper, Stalke Gallery, Kopenhagen
1998
Alter-Nativity, The Jewish Museum, San Francisco
Clarion Alley Mural Project, Clarion Alley, San Francisco
Move 2, New Image Arts, Los Angeles
He Swam Down, Away, Audiello Fine Arts, New York
The Mind Harvest Series, La Panaderia, Mexico City
Selections Summer 98, The Drawing Center, New York
1997
Me, Myself, and I, Timothy Higbee Gallery, San Francisco
The Independents, Alleged Fine Arts, New York
Oddity, 111 Minna Gallery, San Francisco
Mission Community Art Show, Starcleaners, San Francisco
Bay Area Now, Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco
Waveforms, Skate(board)ing the Urban Forest, Santa Cruz Museum of Art and History, Santa Cruz
1996
Necessary Evil Kneivel, Alleged Fine Arts, New York
Guy, Four Walls, San Francisco
Shred Sled Symposium, The Thread Waxing Space, New York
1995
Dysfunctional, an Exhibition of Skateboard Art and Design, Blue Note Gallery, London
The Finale, Figure 5, San Francisco
The New Millenium Degenerate Art Show, The Lab, San Francisco
Wild Side, L.A.C.E., San Francisco
Special Friends, Adobe Book Shop, San Francisco
1994
Combine Effort , Figure 5, San Francisco
1993
The T-Shirt Show, Works Gallery, San Jose
1991
Chain Reaction, San Francisco Art Commission Gallery, San Francisco
1990
The Flower Show, Emmanuel Ratnisky Found Objects, San Francisco
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