Aaron Johnson


Born 1975 in St. Paul, Minnesota, USA. Currently lives and works in Brooklyn.

In 2005, Aaron Johnson received his Master of Fine Arts degree from Hunter College. His works of art strike a delicate balance between chaos and order, abstraction and figuration. Johnson explores the flexibility of patterns, forms, and colors as well as the connectivity that emerges between them by staining the naked canvas. Numerous creatures or forms appear from the pigment washes, looking evasively or even embracing each other as various hues leak from one to the next. Johnson sees his work as a profound visual experience underscored by a personal grasp of the unpredictable nature of his own psyche, paying homage to color field painting and expressionist figuration.


PREVIOUS EXHIBITIONS

  • 2023
    Day Is Night, Almine Rech, Shanghai, China
    Project Room, Almine Rech, Paris, France

    2022
    It’s Good To Be Here, Gana Art, Seoul, Korea

    2021
    Me and You in the Cosmic Stew, Over the Influence, Hong Kong
    Other Earths, Almine Rech, Brussels, Belgium

    2020
    Green Dreamer, Gana Art, Seoul, Korea
    Cosmic Devotion, Over The Influence, Los Angeles, CA

    2019
    Staring at the Sun, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    2018
    New Paintings, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY

    2017
    Gone Fishin’ Joshua Liner Gallery, New York ,NY

    2015
    Pisockophilia, Stux + Haller Gallery, New York, NY.
    ¡Eso Si Que Es!, Arts and Leisure Gallery, New York, NY.

    2013
    Sock Paintings, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    2012
    Liberty Chomp, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    2011
    Freedom from Want, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

    2010
    Scars and Stripes, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Don’t Be Scared, You’re Supposed to Be, Irvine Contemporary, Washington DC.

    2008
    Star-Crossed, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
    Where the Buffalo Roam, Mogadishni, Copenhagen, Denmark.

    2007
    Love Songs for Demons, Mogadishni, Aarhus, Denmark.
    Hellhound Rodeo, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.

    2005
    Fiend Club Lounge, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.

    2004
    Bubblin’ Crude, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY.

  • 2022
    House Parté 2: The Final Salé, curated by Carlye Packer, Palm Springs, CA
    September To Remember, Gana Art, Seoul 

    2021
    Light, Miles McEnery, New York, NY
    Salon de Peinture, Almine Rech, New York, NY
    Un Hiver a Paris, Almine Rech, Paris, France
    Inner Worlds, Ramp Gallery, London
    Potent, Harpers, East Hampton, NY

    2020
    Painting Someone, Almine Rech, Shanghai
    Rise and Shine, Over The Influence, Hong Kong
    Stranger Things, Ramp Gallery, London
    1988 Gallery Anthony, Chicago
    Chronicles, Gallery Droste, Wuppertal, Germany
    The Stranger Things, Ramp Gallery, London

    2019
    In Heaven Everything is Fine, Ross + Kramer Gallery, New York, NY

    2018
    Chum Chum Rubby Dubby, AISHONANZUKA, Hong Kong
    Sieben, Ober Gallery, Kent, CT
    This Wild Parade, Spring/Break Show, New York, NY

    2017
    Summer Breaks, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
    GOAT: A Tribute to Muhammad Ali, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
    The Cannonball Run, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen
    Birds of the Audubon, 101 Exhibit, Los Angeles, CA

    2016
    Summer Mixer, Joshua Liner Gallery, New York, NY
    The Fourth Wall, Booth Gallery, New York, NY
    Pretty Creepy, Booth Gallery, New York, NY

    2015
    Walk in my Shoes, Mass MoCA, Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art, North Adams, MA.
    Hot Slice, Zolla/Lieberman Gallery, Chicago, IL.
    Blaze of Glory, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Viewer Discretion…The Children of Bataille, Stux + Haller Gallery, New York, NY.
    Heathen Fundamentalist,; An Ode to Philip Guston, The Lodge Gallery, New York, NY.
    Static Cling 2, Brooklyn Academy of Music, Brooklyn, NY.
    Free Market Economy, Spring/Break Art Show, New York, NY.

    2014
    The Halloween Show, Gitler & ______, NY, NY.
    Burning Bright: Tiger, Tiger, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
    Heat, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Awkward Phase, Pop Up curated by Jeremy Willis, Brooklyn, NY.
    If Winter Comes, Can Spring Be Far Behind? Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

    2013
    Hello Nasty, Cindy Rucker Gallery, New York, NY.
    The Wild Bunch, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Die Wunderkammer, The Lodge, New York, NY
    One Hundred Little Deaths, Bravin Lee Programs, New York, NY.

    2012
    Exquisite Corpses, The Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY.
    Like Comment Share, American University Art Museum Katzen Center, Washington DC.
    The Dirty Double Dozen, Freight and Volume, New York, NY.
    Piping Down the Valleys Wild,  Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
    Drawn to You,  Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark

    2011
    Good Intentions, Hezi Cohen Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel. 
    You Are Free, KunsthalleExnergasse, WUK Werkstaetten und Kulturhaus, Vienna, Austria.
    Facemaker, Royal T, Los Angeles, CA.  Curated by Kathy Grayson.
    Sick!, Misc. Project, New York, NY.
    Bitches Brew, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Volta New York, represented by Galeria Mito, New York, NY.
    Desires, Nightmares, Dreams 2.  Running Horse Contemporary Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon.

    2010
    Run and Tell That: New Work from New York, SU Art Galleries, Syracuse, NY.
    Big Picture,Priska C. Juschka  Fine Art, New York, NY.
    Dawn Frasch, Aaron Johnson, Wes Lang, Galleri Brandstrup, Oslo, Norway.
    The Irrascible Assholes, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, Denmark.
    Bushwick Schlacht, Fortress to Solitude, Brooklyn, New York.
    You Are Free, The Tape Club, Berlin, Germany.
    Inflection, The Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY.
    The Antidote, Claire Oliver Gallery, New York, NY.
    The Rise and Fall of Excess Culture, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.

    2009
    Ridykeulouse Hits Bottom, Leo Koenig Projekte, New York, NY.
    Desires, Nightmares, Dreams.  The Running Horse Contemporary Art Space, Beirut, Lebanon.
    Low Blow: and Other Species of Confusion, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
    Octo Pusses, New Image Art, Los Angeles, CA.
    Tales of Wonder and Woe, Castle Gallery, New Rochelle, NY. 

    2008
    Grotesque Histories, Rotunda Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
    From Head to Toe, Stux Gallery, New York, NY.
    Summer Exhibition, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY. 

    2007
    Size Matters Part One: XS- Recent Small Scale Paintings, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art,  Peekskill, NY;(2008) Knoxville Museum of Contemporary Art, Knoxville TN
    Size Matters Part Two: XXL- Recent Large Scale Paintings, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY.
    Irrational Exuberance, Maddox Art, London, England. 

    2006
    Summer Group Show, Marlborough Gallery, New York, NY.
    Six Degrees of Separation, Stux Gallery, New York, NY. 

    2005
    New Art, New York: Reflections on the Human Condition, Trierenberg Holding AG, Traun, Austria.
    Kiss Me Long and Hard, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY.
    Go Figure! JET Art Works, Washington DC.
    MFA Thesis Exhibition XXV, Hunter College Times Square Gallery, New York, NY.
    Group Show, Frey Norris Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 

    2004
    On-Site - A Site-Specific Group Show, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, Brooklyn, NY.
    New American Talent- The 19th Exhibition, Art House Texas, Austin, TX, curated by Jerry Saltz.
    Surface Tension, Lombard-Freid Fine Arts, New York, NY.
    A Sense of Place, Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art, Boulder, CO. 

    2003
    Tits and Art 3, GV-AS Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.
    Dirty Old Toy Box, Fluxcore Art Space, Brooklyn, NY.
    Love, Art, and War, Altman Gallery, New York, NY. 

    2002
    Launch, Fluxcore Art Space, Brooklyn, NY.
    Memetics, Meme Project, New York, NY. 

  • Suchao, Li, Aaron Johnson: Wandering at the Threshold of Light and Darkness, Artnet, February 2023 

    Aaron Johnson Portraying “Other Earths” @ Almine Rech Brussels, Sasha Bogojev, Juxtapoz, April 2021

    Conversation with Aaron Johnson, interview by Dan Golden, Curator.Guide, 2021

    The Conjuring of Colors and Spirit in Aaron Johnson’s New Paintings, Adam Zucker, Rhino Horn Artists, 2018

    Podcast: We Eat Art episode 26, interviewed by Zak Smith and John Mejias, 2018

    Bors, Chris, “Critic’s Picks”, Artforum, May 2017.

    Viner, Jonathan, “Americana Apocalypse: Aaron Johnson Gone Fishin’ at Joshua Liner Gallery, Whitehot Magazine, May 2017

    Lambert, Audra, “Painting the Absurd: The Engrossing, Grotesque Art of Aaron Johnson”, Quiet Lunch, May 2017

    Change, Mark, “Gone FIshin’ Solo Show at Joshua Liner Gallery New York”, Doze Collective, April 2017

    Sargent, Sarah, "Aaron Johnson: Stux & Haller", Artillery Magazine, March 15, 2015.

    Voynovskaya, Nastia, "On View: Aaron Johnson's 'Pisockophilia'", Hi Fructose March 3, 2015

    Mair, Moray, "Aaron Johnson's Sock Paintings are a Grotesque Satire on Modern Life", Mutant Space, 11/25/2013.

    Jablon, Sam, "The Horror of Socks", Hyperallergic, 11/7/2013.

    Frank, Priscilla, "These Sock Paintings Are More Unsettling Than You Can Imagine (NSFW)", The Huffington Post, 10/6/2013.

    Sock Paintings Exhibition Catalog, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, 2013.

    Frank, Priscilla, “Stux Gallery’s ‘Piping Down the Valleys Wild’ Explores Innocence in the Contemporary World”, The Huffington Post, July 2012.

    Liberty Chomp Exhibition Catalogue, Gallery Poulsen, Copenhagen, 2012.

    Indrisek, Scott, “Art Reviews: Aaron Johnson at Stux Gallery”, Modern Painters, 12/2011.

    Freight and Volume Magazine, interview with artist Mi Ju, 12/2011.

    Lindboe, Af Ole.  “Aaron Johnson Djaevle Med Knal Pa”, Kunst Magazinet, Nr. 1/2011, pg 12-17

    Indrisek, Scott.  “Big Picture.” Modern Painters, October 2010.

    Dawson, Jessica.  “Aaron Johnson’s Hyper-Realism.” The Washington Post, 6/4/2010.

    Judkis, Maura.  “Barnaby Whitfield and Aaron Johnson at Irvine Contemporary.” Washington Citypaper,  5/14/2010.

    Inflection, exhibition catalog, Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, 2010

    Beautiful/Decay book 2.  2010.

    Indrisek, Scott, “Aaron Johnson.” Whitewall Magazine, issue 13, pg 64-65, 2009.

    Smith, Roberta, “Art In Review.” The New York Times. 10/17/08.

    Gladstone, Valerie, “Reviews: New York.” ARTnews, pg 168, 11/08.

    Pedersen, Anja Moller. “Bonnie og Clyde i Farver.” Aarhus.Nu, 12/07.

    Sumpter, Helen. “Irrational Exuberance.” Time Out London,11/5/07.

    Chambers, Christopher Hart. “Grilling Up the Hellhound Rodeo.” dArt International, v.10,#2,2007.

    Amir, Yaelle. Exhibition Review. Beautiful/Decay, Issue T. 8/07.

    Baker, R.C. "Best in Show." The Village Voice. 6/5/07.

    Dressler, Christiane. “New York Kitzely Heraus, Was Du In Dir Hast.” Welt, 10/13/07.

    Smith, Roberta. “Art in Review.” The New York Times. 11/4/05.

    Baker, R.C. “Voice Choices.” The Village Voice. 10/26/05.

    Exhibition Catalog: New Art, New York: Reflections on the Human Condition. Published by Trierenberg Holding AG, Traun, Austria. 2005.

    Animal Magazine. Issue 6: Instincts. Fall 2005.

    New American Paintings, 55th edition. The Open Studios Press. 2005.

    Buck, Louisa. "The Other Fairs." The Art Newspaper,Art Basel/Miami Beach Daily.12/2/04.

    Polgar, Robi. “New American Talent – The 19th Exhibition.” The Austin Chronicle. 8/6/04.

    Van Ryzin, J. C. “Curator Weaves New Craftiness into ‘New American Talent’.” Austin 360, 7/1/04.

    Cotter, Holland. “Politics that Makes Peace with the Beauty of Objects.” New York Times, 6/18/04

    Levin, Kim. “Voice Choices.” The Village Voice. 6/15/04.

    Exhibition catalog: New American Talent – The 19th Exhibition, Arthouse Texas. 04.

    Pratt Publications: “Two Years After.” Gateway. Volume 13, Number 12. 2/17/03. 

  • 2016 CCA Andratx Residency, Mallorca, Spain

    2015 VCCA Virginia Center for Creative Arts Residency

    2013 Yaddo Foundation Residency

    2012 MacDowell Colony Fellowship

    2006 Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation Residency

    2006 Chashama Studio Residency

    2004 Graf Travel Grant, Hunter College, research trip to India. 

  • Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY

    Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation

    Coleccion Solo, Madrid, Spain

    Hudson Valley Center for Contemporary Art, Peekskill, NY

    Fundación Mer, Madrid, Spain