MADAME X - Eric Johnson

ERIC JOHNSON

MADAME X

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY

ERIC JOHNSON MADAME X

William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Eric Johnson: Madame X, a new series of lustrous cast resin sculptures, opening November 18th, 2023 - January 6th, 2024.

The Madame X works exemplify Eric Johnson’s passionate embrace of the sensuality of form. The sculptures are imbued with abstract bursts of color beneath pristine surfaces, which appear to undulate as one moves around their double-helix curves.

Seen together, the series is a celebration of the exquisite harmony of depth, structure, color, and lovingly polished surfaces, somewhat blurring the line between painting and sculpture. Interestingly, the Madame X series was inspired by a painting by John Singer Sargent, and pays homage to Sargent’s portrait of the same title, which scandalized the Paris Salon of 1884. While Parisians were shocked by the slip of a dress strap and the alabaster complexion of the portrait’s subject, Johnson was inspired by the sinewy, vertical curves of Sargent’s composition.

At the nexus of the L.A. art scene for nearly forty years, Eric Johnson’s work bears a distinctly Southern California hot-rod, materials-based aesthetic. Early on, Johnson was drawn to artists whose work also grew out of L.A.’s surf and car culture sensibilities. Utilizing new materials and industrial products, like resin & plastic, artwork of impossibly slick, sleek character began to emerge and was termed “Finish Fetish”. Johnson’s work is next generation heir to this work, and carries forward the DNA of such legendary

Light and Space, Finish Fetish, artists as Craig Kaufman, DeWain Valentine, Billy Al Bengston, Larry Bell, Tom Jenkins and Tony DeLap. Eric Johnson’s works are also acutely personal representations of his life. A severe neck injury, and struggle with intense spinal pain, served as the initial catalyst for his exploration of structural forms, which are also informed by his ancestral heritage Scottish, Cree Indian, and perhaps a boat-building urge from the Norse. His father, a race-car driver and expert in custom car fabrication, passed on a passion for cars and their restoration. Scouted into the Air Force during the Vietnam war as a fencing instructor (though he never served), Johnson discovered he was color-blind during an eye-exam. Surprisingly, this ignited an interest in color and experiments with layering automotive pigments and clear resins, which Johnson continues with in this series, fabricating molds, which allow him to do multiple iterations of the same shape while investigating variations of color.

Eric Johnson attended Valley College; California Institute of Art and received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from University of California at Irvine. Johnson’s work is in many public and private collections, including: Oakland Museum; Laguna Beach Museum; Museum of Art and History (MOAH); Lancaster, CA; C.B.S. Broadcasting, New York, NY; Digital Domain, Venice, CA; Mary Barnes; Leonardo and George DiCaprio; James Cameron; Homeira and Arnold Goldstein, among others. Eric Johnson was born in Burbank, California and currently lives and works in San Pedro, California.

Molten Madame 2022 Composite resin & automotive pigment 47.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”

Watsons Wand 2005 Resin fiberglass and wood 16” x 192” x 16”

Watsons Wand 2005 Resin fiberglass and wood 16” x 192” x 16”

Casper Brindle Light-Glyph I 2021 Pigmented acrylic 74” x 44” x 12”

Madame X 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 108” x 16” x 16”

Madame X 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 108” x 16” x 16”

Station to Station (diptych), 2020, acrylic on canvas, 84” x 132”

Madame Calypso 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 75.5” x 8.5” x 8.5”

Madame Calypso 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 75.5” x 8.5” x 8.5”

Cassiopeia 2023 Composite resin, automotive pigment, wood 45.5” x 8.5” x 8.5”

Red Madame X 2023 Composite resin & automotive pigment 46” x 6” x 6”

Red Madame X 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 46” x 6” x 6”

Madame Orange 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 46” x 6” x 6”

Golden Cole 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Madame X - Spotted Blue 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Madame X Install 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6” (each)

Madame X - Coral Foam 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Madame X - Bleu 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Pono, 2022, acrylic & spray on canvas, 48”x 46”

Emerald Madame 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

DETAIL Chasing Pono 2022 acrylic and spray on canvas 72“x 66“

Madame Bleu 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Hanalei, 2022, acrylic and spray on canvas, 56“x 48“

Spotted Green Madame 2023 Composite resin and automotive pigment 44” x 6” x 6”

Madame G 2022 Composite resin and automotive pigment 47.5” x 4.5” x 4.5”

ERIC JOHNSON Eric Johnson attended Valley College; California Institute of Art and received his Masters of Fine Arts degree from University of California at Irvine. Johnson’s work is in many public and private collections, including: Oakland Museum; Laguna Beach Museum; Museum of Art and History (MOAH); Lancaster, CA; C.B.S. Broadcasting, New York, NY; Digital Domain, Venice, CA; Mary Barnes; Leonardo and George DiCaprio; James Cameron; Homeira and Arnold Goldstein, among others. Eric Johnson was born in Burbank, California. He currently lives and work in San Pedro, California.

Photography: Rob Brander Portrait of Eric: Roch Armando Layout: Rob Brander

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY

ERIC JOHNSON Selected Solo Exhibitions 2023 Madame X, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2022 Eric Johnson, Paul Williams Gallery, Ontario, CA 2018 Helex 2, Orange Coast College, Costa Mesa, CA 2017 Heart Sequential, SCAPE Gallery, Corona Del Mar, CA 2015 Legacy, Museum of Art & History, Lancaster, CA 2013 Eric Johnson, Peter Blake Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA 2012 Dark Money, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2009 Overview, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2008 The Maize Project, Torrance Art Museum, Torrance, CA 2000 Mesdames, Art College, San Diego, CA 1998 Eric Johnson, Harbor College, Wilmington, CA 1996 Sentimento, Simayspace, San Diego, CA 1995 An Unfinished Fetish: A Five-Year Survey, East Gallery, Claremont Graduate School, Claremont, CA 1986 Eric Johnson, Sangre y Arena, Granada, Spain Group Exhibitions 2017 Eric Johnson / Peter Lodato, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2014 Passing Time: 50 Years of Exhibitions, Los Ángeles Valley College, Valley Glen, CA 2012 Smooth Operations: Substance and Surface in Southern California Art, Museum of Art and History, Lancaster, CA 2012 Eric Johnson & Peter Lodato, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA. 2011 Shift. Space. Slick., Eric Johnson, Larry Bell, Craig Kauffman, De Wain Valentine, Scott White Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA 2010 New School Cool: Eric Johnson / De Wain Valentine, Scott White Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA 2008 Liquid Supercool, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2007 Ned Evans & Eric Johnson, Toomey-Tourell Gallery, San Francisco, CA 2005 AxS, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA 2004 Bioballistic, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles, CA Cynthia and Renato Penna, Naples, Italy Kelly & Jo Hames, Los Angeles, CA C.B.S. Broadcasting Group, New York, NY Dark Horse Entertainment, Los Angeles, CA John Monahan, Palm Springs, CA

Group Exhibitions Continued...

1999 Forms of Thought, Charles Arnoldi, David Lloyd, & Eric Johnson, William Turner Gallery, Venice, CA 1996 Skin and Bone, Los Angeles Municipal Art Gallery, Barnsdall Art Park, Los Angeles, CA 1995 Shape Forming the L.A. Look, Main Art Gallery, Cal State Fullerton, Fullerton, CA 1993 Kustom Kulture, Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA Selected Museum & Private Collections: Oakland Museum, Oakland, CA Laguna Beach Museum, Laguna Beach, CA UC Irvine Museum, Buck Collection, Irvine, CA Hamano Institute, Tokyo, Japan Grand Hyatt, Tokyo, Japan The Bourbons Collection, Naples, Italy James Cameron, Los Angeles, CA Christopher Chaney Esq. & Lindy Carll, Los Angeles, CA Nancy and Robert Englund, Laguna Beach, CA Jay Novak, Los Angeles, CA

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY

WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY