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Almine Rech

Aaron Johnson Day Is Night

Jan 13 — Mar 4, 2023 | Shanghai

For the safety of our visitors and staff, masks must be worn by all visitors upon entrance, and negative PCR test result within 72 hours is required while entering.
The gallery is open from 11 am until 7 pm.

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Aaron Johnson's early interest in the creative risks of experimentation, the delicate balance between control and lack of it, is pivotal to his choices of alternative approaches to painting. In his new series of figurative color field paintings, the NYC-based artist is invested in harnessing the tension between unpredictability and mastership with fluid imagery created using a stain painting technique. Gradually, this opposition between two aspects of something evolved from being the backbone of his technical approach into becoming the conceptual core of the work comprising Day is Night. In this exhibition, Johnson’s psychedelically colorful paintings reveal ethereal figures dissolving into hazes of disembodied color, as otherworldly fluid visualizations of the cosmic interconnectedness of all things.

It's not rare that artists self-impose a challenge to their practice in an effort to push the boundaries in search of discoveries outside of their standard point of view. For Johnson, this included experimentation with different techniques and materials which eventually landed him in the color field/abstract expressionism realm originally developed by the likes of Frankenthaler or Pollock. Initially, the spontaneity and unpredictability of tinting the raw canvas with washes of color captured his interest alongside the peculiar way of freezing the movement, speed, flow, energy, and gesture. With time, this technique presented itself as perfect for exploring the ideas of perceived duality and for seeking the experience of non-duality, the coexistence of all things. The soak stain technique with thinned acrylics allowed for the depiction of calm but unremitting motion, highlighting the impressions of color, shape, and space, all while exploring the elemental nature of chroma.

— Saša Bogojev, writer and curator

Press release

  • read or download in English
  • 中文阅读下载

Selected artworks

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Ascension, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Ascension, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    213 x 183 cm
    84 x 72 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Black Hole Party, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Black Hole Party, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    122 x 112 cm
    48 x 44 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Deep Space With Black Cat, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Deep Space With Black Cat, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    157.5 x 127 cm
    62 x 50 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Ablaze, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Ablaze, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson Day is Night, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    122 x 112 cm
    48 x 44 in

  • Aaron Johnson Holding On, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      In Her Light, 2022

    Aaron Johnson In Her Light, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      In The Groove, 2022

    Aaron Johnson In The Groove, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      We Are Made of StarDust, 2022

    Aaron Johnson We Are Made of StarDust, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    157.5 x 127 cm
    62 x 50 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Ornithology, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Ornithology, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    183 x 213 cm
    72 x 84 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Through and Through, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Through and Through, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    157.5 x 127 cm
    62 x 50 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      It’s Always You, 2022

    Aaron Johnson It’s Always You, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Red Sonnet, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Red Sonnet, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    71 x 56 cm
    28 x 22 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      We’ve Seen the Future, 2022

    Aaron Johnson We’ve Seen the Future, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    213 x 183 cm
    84 x 72 in

  • Aaron Johnson,                                      Star Light, 2022

    Aaron Johnson Star Light, 2022

    Acrylic on canvas
    183 x 213 cm
    72 x 84 in

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