Stephen Johnson
biography |
portfolio | artists listing
b. 1957, Webster, Massachusetts
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Beyond The Basket, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Connected, Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas/Gallery Materia,
Scotsdale AZ
Spotlight On Arizona Artists, Cervini-Haas/Gallery Materia,Scotsdale,AZ
Material Difference :Soft Sculpture and Wall Works, Chicago Cultural
Center, Chicago, IL
2006 Baskets: Beyond Structure, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Quirks of Art, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA
Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Cervini-Haas, New York, NY
2005 Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
All Things Considered 3, National Basketry Organization, Tahoe City, CA
Material Content: Basketry Sculpture in the 21st Century, Craft Alliance,
St. Louis, MO
2004 Sculptural Basketry, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2003 At the Edge of the Field: Contemporary Baskets in America, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
Arizona Artists, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
Baskets Now: 2003, National Basketry Organization, Yeiser Art Center,
Paducah, KY
Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC
2002 All Things Considered 2, National Basketry Organization, Abiquiu, NM
Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
Materials: Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
2001 Contemporary Baskets, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am a relative newcomer to basket making and as such my thinking and motivation is simple. About six years ago I read, for the first time, Ed Rossbach’s The Nature of Basketry. There is a section in the book where Rossbach talks about ‘temporary baskets’; these are made quickly in the ‘bush’, with whatever materials were at hand. This notion is the single most influential factor in why I have chosen the materials I use.
I have chosen the raffle tickets, and paint chip samples because they, like any other found object or ready-mades, are universally recognizable and familiar, evoking a nostalgic personal history and built-in narrative for each of us. The staples initially served as mechanical fastener, eventually evolving to the structural/design element we see.
These are my ‘bush materials’.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2007 Beyond The Basket, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Connected, Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas/Gallery Materia,
Scotsdale AZ
Spotlight On Arizona Artists, Cervini-Haas/Gallery Materia,Scotsdale,AZ
Material Difference :Soft Sculpture and Wall Works, Chicago Cultural
Center, Chicago, IL
2006 Baskets: Beyond Structure, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
Contemporary Baskets, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Quirks of Art, Quirk Gallery, Richmond, VA
Sculpture, Objects, Functional Art Exposition, Cervini-Haas, New York, NY
2005 Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
All Things Considered 3, National Basketry Organization, Tahoe City, CA
Material Content: Basketry Sculpture in the 21st Century, Craft Alliance,
St. Louis, MO
2004 Sculptural Basketry, Thirteen Moons Gallery, Santa Fe, NM
2003 At the Edge of the Field: Contemporary Baskets in America, Northern Michigan University, Marquette, MI
Arizona Artists, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
Baskets Now: 2003, National Basketry Organization, Yeiser Art Center,
Paducah, KY
Rocky Mount Arts Center, Rocky Mount, NC
2002 All Things Considered 2, National Basketry Organization, Abiquiu, NM
Annual Basketry Invitational, Cervini-Haas /Gallery Materia, Scottsdale, AZ
Materials: Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton, TX
2001 Contemporary Baskets, Mesa Arts Center, Mesa, AZ
ARTIST'S STATEMENT
I am a relative newcomer to basket making and as such my thinking and motivation is simple. About six years ago I read, for the first time, Ed Rossbach’s The Nature of Basketry. There is a section in the book where Rossbach talks about ‘temporary baskets’; these are made quickly in the ‘bush’, with whatever materials were at hand. This notion is the single most influential factor in why I have chosen the materials I use.
I have chosen the raffle tickets, and paint chip samples because they, like any other found object or ready-mades, are universally recognizable and familiar, evoking a nostalgic personal history and built-in narrative for each of us. The staples initially served as mechanical fastener, eventually evolving to the structural/design element we see.
These are my ‘bush materials’.