Steve Johnston

STEVE JOHNSTON STEVE JOHNSTON ZOE BENBOW

Steve Johnston was born in Glasgow in 1956. In 1973 Steve attended Carlisle Art College where, during the second year, year he opted for a change in medium, medium preferring photography to painting. He found black & white formats extremely inspiring and exciting to work with, seeing himself in fact as an artist but utilising a camera rather than paint. paint Upon leaving college he moved to London where he did freelance work for teen magazines, which led to work for Vogue g in 1977, where his work was included in the ‘Pink Punk Book’ published in 1978. This style of photo launched the first issue of i-D magazine in 1980, where he worked for the following few years. In 1991, when photography no longer became inspirational for him, he started painting seriously again concentrating once again on the medium that he had originally embraced.

‘It was then that something clicked and I have not looked back since painting is my life.’

He is always drawn to figures that create a great shape. Details such as ‘how’ someone is standing or ‘what’ they are doing come into play afterwards. It is the graphic shape of the ‘body body mass mass’ that inspires the first ideas. ideas Certain images can unlock powerful emotions which are separate from what the actual content at the picture could create if focused on in more detail. He attempts to take the voyeur somewhere with a sense of the familiar that has an almost ephemeral and ethereal quality, rather than somewhere specific. With the same reasoning he does not depict figures to be anyone in particular reasoning, particular. ‘The The aim is to portray an essence and emotion rather than a well defined and precise person or location, as I am not interested in set narrative pieces.’

Blue M Bl Moon Oil, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 76 cm

Love Is All Around Oil, acrylic on canvas, 61 x 61 cm

The King Oil, acrylic on canvas, 76 x 61 cm

Wet Umbrella Oil, acrylic on canvas, 71 x 61 cm

Friends Forever Oil, acrylic on canvas, 99 x 81 cm

With Love From Me To You Oil, acrylic on canvas, 99 x 81 cm

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