Sarah Anne Johnson

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Sarah Anne Johnson
Born1976 (age 47–48)
Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Alma mater University of Manitoba
Yale School of Art
Known for Installation artist, sculptor, oil painter, video artist, Performance artist, dancer
Notable workTree Planting (2005)
House On Fire (2009)
AwardsChalmers Art Fellowship
Website sarahannejohnson.ca

Sarah Anne Johnson (born 1976) is a Canadian photo-based, multidisciplinary artist working in installation, bronze sculpture, oil paint, video, performance, and dance. [1]

Contents

Life and career

Johnson received her B.F.A. at the University of Manitoba in 2002 and completed her Master's in Photography at the Yale School of Art in 2004. [2]

Her first exhibition, Tree Planting (2005), was purchased by the Guggenheim Museum while the National Gallery of Canada bought most of her second show, The Galapagos Project (2007). [3] Johnson was chosen along with other Canadian artists by curator Jonathan Shaughnessy to be shown in Builders (2012), a featured exhibition for the Canadian Biennial 2012 at the National Gallery of Canada for her role and ability to create Canada's cultural fabric. [4] Michael F.B. Nesbitt, a notable contemporary art collector who donated Johnson's House on Fire (2009) series to the Art Gallery of Ontario, proclaims Johnson as a “shining example of an artist able to tell unique, personal stories in a universal way”. [2]

Johnson lives and works in her hometown, Winnipeg. [1] She is represented by the Stephen Bulger Gallery in Toronto and Julie Saul Gallery [5] in New York.

Themes

Johnson explores themes of utopia, [6] the hopefulness and despair of a perfect world, humans’ relationship with the environment, and unique subcultures facing difficult conditions [1] while “poking fun at it all”. [7]

Although she often works in different media, Johnson expresses her frustrations with classical “straight” photography. [8] In the Canadian Art article “7 Lessons from Sarah Anne Johnson”, she states, “My general interest in photography is showing what something looks like, but also what it feels like [… by] altering the surface or image in any way, I can describe what a space feels like psychologically, what it feels like to be there”. By using several mediums Johnson is able to separate photography and “true” documentary photographic representation [8] by challenging the notion of photography as fact and different type of truths in capturing moments through photography.

Pamela Meredith, a senior curator at the TD Bank Group who purchased Johnson's Tree Planting (2005) series for the bank's collection stated she appreciated how Johnson recreated the photographed moment by manipulating our perception and disrupting memory. [1]

Photographic series

Exhibitions

Selected solo exhibitions

Selected group exhibitions

Recognition

Collections

Her work is included in many Canadian and international public collections including The Guggenheim Museum, New York, [13] Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, [2] and The National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. [14]

Johnson has been commissioned to create work for the Bank of Montreal Project Room, [15] Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art / Art Toronto Benefit, [16] and Louis Vuitton. [8]

Awards

She is the recipient of many grants and awards including the inaugural Grange Prize in 2008 granted by the Art Gallery of Ontario and Aeroplan, a “Major Grant” from the Manitoba Arts Council, and a finalist for the 2011 Sobey Art Award. [17]

Residencies

Johnson is an international public speaker, lecturer, and teacher. She has completed residencies in 2008 at the Banff Centre in Alberta, [20] and in 2009 at The Arctic Circle Residency [21] in Norway.

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References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Gillmor, Alison. True to Life. Flare, 2013.
  2. 1 2 3 AGO Acquires Acclaimed Sarah Anne Johnson Installation. AGO. September 30, 2009. http://www.ago.net/ago-acquires-acclaimed-sarah-anne-johnson-installation Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  3. ↑ "Art Basel bound: Canada's most creative A-types preview the best of 2013's fair". Fashion Magazine. 2013-11-25. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  4. 1 2 Milroy, Sarah (2012-11-09). "At the National Gallery: Black and white and everything light". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  5. ↑ "Julie Saul Projects - Home". www.saulgallery.com. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Issue 126 – Special Venice Issue – June 2013". bordercrossingsmag.com. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  7. 1 2 3 Tousley, Nancy. "Sarah Anne Johnson: Northern Splendour". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  8. 1 2 3 Gallpen, Britt. "7 Lessons from Sarah Anne Johnson". Canadian Art. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  9. ↑ Paterson, David. Why This Defaced Photo is Sexier Than Your Nude Selfie. The Grid. March 20, 2014. http://www.thegridto.com/city/sexuality/why-this-defaced-photo-is-sexier-than-your-nude-selfie/
  10. ↑ Cushman, Robert. National Post. February 4, 2012.
  11. ↑ Saltz, Jerry. Vision Thing. The Village Voice, 2007. http://www.villagevoice.com/2007-02-27/art/vision-thing/full/
  12. ↑ Smith, Roberta (2005-02-11). "Art in Review; Sarah Anne Johnson". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  13. ↑ Collection Online: Sarah Anne Johnson. Guggenheim. http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/collections/collection-online/artists/bios/5780 Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  14. ↑ Collections: Sarah Anne Johnson. http://www.gallery.ca/en/see/collections/artist.php?iartistid=27734 Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  15. ↑ "BMO PROJECT ROOM 2013". BMO PROJECT ROOM 2013. Retrieved 2022-10-14.
  16. ↑ Art Toronto MOCCA Benefit Edition 2013. http://www.mocca.ca/atmb2013/ Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  17. ↑ Sarah Anne Johnson Artist Page: Stephen Bulger Gallery. http://www.bulgergallery.com/dynamic/fr_artist_cv.asp?ArtistID=72 Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  18. ↑ 2011 Short List Nominees. http://www.artgalleryofnovascotia.ca/en/sobeyartaward/pastwinners/2011SAA/2011shortlistnominees.aspx Retrieved 17 June 2014. Archived 2012-11-23 at the Wayback Machine
  19. ↑ 2008 Winner: Sarah Anne Johnson. http://www.aimiaagophotographyprize.com/5470 Retrieved 17 June 2014. Archived 2014-03-05 at the Wayback Machine
  20. ↑ Sarah Anne Johnson Biography - The Banff Centre. http://www.banffcentre.ca/faculty/faculty-member/4343/sarah-anne-johnson/ Retrieved 17 June 2014. Archived 2013-06-17 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ↑ "The Arctic Circle – Artist & Scientist Residency Program" . Retrieved 2022-10-14.
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