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Selected Works

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Big Answers  54" x 64"  Oil On Canvas

Big Answers

54" x 64"

Oil On Canvas

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Fritz Maytag  24" x 18"  Oil On Canvas

Fritz Maytag (SOLD)

24" x 18"

Oil On Canvas

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Twice And Again  24" x 36"  Oil On Canvas

Twice And Again

24" x 36"

Oil On Canvas

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Wallpaper In Cemetery  18" x 24"  Oil On Canvas

Wallpaper In Cemetery

18" x 24"

Oil On Canvas

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Big Answers  54" x 64"  Oil On Canvas

Big Answers

54" x 64"

Oil On Canvas

Shop

Fritz Maytag  24" x 18"  Oil On Canvas

Fritz Maytag (SOLD)

24" x 18"

Oil On Canvas

Twice And Again  24" x 36"  Oil On Canvas

Twice And Again

24" x 36"

Oil On Canvas

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Wallpaper In Cemetery  18" x 24"  Oil On Canvas

Wallpaper In Cemetery

18" x 24"

Oil On Canvas

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The surfaces in my painting recall the appearance of the ocean: the viewer is placed above or among images that conform to swells and troughs.

-Elizabeth Johnson

Elizabeth Johnson - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Ngaio Marsh, 24" x 30", Oil On Canvas

Artist Statement

I make dimensional oil paintings that render warped photograph fragments as curvilinear forms. The surfaces in my painting recall the appearance of the ocean: the viewer is placed above or among images that conform to swells and troughs. A desire to resist storytelling underlies my urge to imagine a churning, interlocking volume of activity. This year I am excited about the areas where I have removed paint with a palette knife: I am working back into these wet colors to suggest an undulating, multi-colored veneer, where recognizable image fragments seem continuous with or sunk into drapery-like folds. This technique helps me visualize my source images as layers in flux. My long-term practice of manipulating photo fragments, and of elevating paint handling procedures above narrative, is rejuvenated by making oil paint look ragged, diffuse, and borderless.

Elizabeth Johnson - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Attamaroov, 52" x 64", Oil On Canvas

Elizabeth Johnson is an artist, writer and curator based in Easton, Pennsylvania. After receiving her B.A. in Fine Arts from Bard College, Johnson moved to San Francisco where she lived, worked and exhibited until 2010. Since returning to the northeast, she has exhibited her work widely in exhibitions across the region including at the Center for Emerging Visual Artists in Philadelphia, Trestle Gallery in New York, and the Allentown Art Museum. She has curated exhibitions at Gross McCleaf Gallery, Soft Machine Gallery and Cedar Crest College in Allentown, Lafayette College in Easton and many others. Her writing has been featured in the Brooklyn Rail, Theartblog.com, Deliciousline.org, Figure/Ground.org and many others. Her work will be featured in a 2024 solo exhibition at Gross McCleaf Gallery. 

Elizabeth Johnson - Artists - Gross McCleaf Gallery

Iota, 20" x 16", Oil On Canvas

Video

Elizabeth Johnson featured in John Thornton’s Artist Film “The Multi Dimensional Paintings of Elizabeth Johnson”

Video Description: “Elizabeth Johnson is a wonderful painter whose “multi-dimensional” artworks evoke Cubism as well as advanced ideas in physics. She also is a great interviewer of her fellow artists at Gross McCleaf Gallery and other places. I found both Elizabeth herself and her paintings fascinating.”