Aaron Johnson lives and works in Los Angeles, and holds an MFA from Hunter College, NYC, 2005.
What initially drew you to featuring spirit-like figures, and what do they represent to you in terms of human or cosmic experience?
The ethereal beings started appearing in my work, naturally through the fluid and organic painting process. First came the process, and initially the figures were a little more human. Then the process became more and more fluid, and by the nature of that fluidity, the figures became sort of ghostly and other worldly, luminous and glowing. I like to work with the idea that they are being manifested to appear on the canvas.
In what way does your personal philosophy or view on interconnectedness influence the way you create your work?
I’m interested in ideas of animism, that there’s a life force that flows through all things. Maybe that’s a divine force of cosmic interconnectedness. I let the work be a zone to explore those ideas.
What role does color play in creating the dreamlike, otherworldly feel of your pieces?
Color I might say is the main material in my work. Of course paint is the physical material, but color is an otherworldly metaphysical nonmaterial material. Lately there’s more space for color abstraction within the works, as my interest in pure color becomes increasingly dominant.
How much control or spontaneity is involved in your work?
Unpredictability is what makes the process so engaging for me. There’s not a lot of control, but rather a lot of spontaneous moves, in an action:reaction kind of sequence.
Do you have any rituals that support you in creating your work?
I think the whole process feels like a quasi-religious ritual, working on the floor, kneeling down a lot, painting as a moving meditation, bringing fruit and chocolate and coffee as offerings to the practice. It’s about a setting to invoke whatever will come into the paintings. I listen to Alice Coltrane’s Journey In Satchidananda album every time I start a painting. Back in my Brooklyn studio it was important to surround myself with potted plants, to bring in a nature energy. Now since I moved to LA, my garage studio is in a garden, literally enshrouded by plants and cacti, so I feel like I’m in the best place.
Tell us about the show that you curated at Gana Art LA and any other upcoming shows.
How The Trees See The Stars is a show I curated at Gana Art LA, with artists Ross Simonini, Caris Reid, Sarah Alice Moran, Andrew Schoultz, Hiejin Yoo, Jude Pauli, Ben Sanders, and myself. These are some of my favorite artists and I’ve been so lucky to assemble an exhibition with them. On view in LA through January 4th! Beyond that I have a solo at Gana Art in Seoul in February 2025, and exhibitions in the works for Oslo, Madrid, and Dubai in 2025-2026.