Jackie K. Johnson

Portland artist, Jackie Johnson boldly paints totemic forms with vibrant colors. In this exhibition entitled “Water, Quakes and War,” compositional shapes, some triangular and egg shaped, others tree or brick-like, are informed by current events, architecture, the figure, and nature. Her explorations of composition are approached anew each time. They transpire within a spatial, floating developmental process. Johnson reveals metaphor and character throughout her work by reinventing form. Ideas of perception are reconsidered, the elements become iconic and primal, as the totemic shapes appear to shift and jostle about the canvas. Enigmatic images, they are left to the viewer’s own interpretation.