Today we’d like to introduce you to Carrie Johnson.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
After graduating from Columbia College, I started a theater company in Chicago that I ran for five years. I moved back to my hometown of Rockford in 2006 and began my career in the visual arts. I started working at Rockford Art Museum in late-2006 as the Customer Service Coordinator followed by Education Director and then I was named Curator in 2012. After years of facilitating artists careers, I decided to get back into painting myself and got a studio space in 2017. I realized after all the years I’d spent on the other side of art – being inspired and challenged by many forms of art – that I wanted to confront my own creativity head-on so I started producing my own work.
Please tell us about your art.
My work primarily focuses on composition and texture. Although my work seems minimal, there is greater meaning to each mark that is executed, in my newest body of work, I have been playing a lot with flocking fibers, sand, and gel mediums. I use the textures to build up the paint and make the panels more three-dimensional.
I prefer the viewer form their own narrative about the piece – translate the mark on their own. None of the paintings are organic, quite the opposite actually, where each gesture is thoroughly thought out and very deliberate. I’m very inspired by the Abstract Expressionists. I love powerful marks with thick, black whips of paints and simple backgrounds. I hope that anyone looking at the work feels something–whether it’s happy, sad, like or dislike–I want a reaction.
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
As an artist, I define my success by continuing to produce. The more I work, the better I get. I may hate 90% of my work on a given day but as long as I’m pushing forward, I’ll continue to get that 10% of work that really conveys my message. So, that 10% keeps me going and keeps pushing me to do better. It’s always nice to sell work so that I can keep buying supplies or pay my studio rent but making money does not define success to me. Persistence is a quality that is essential for any artist. You just have to keep producing.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Currently, my work is on view at J.R. Kortman Center for Design in Rockford. I’m working on building a website for my curatorial projects and artwork but in the meantime, you can see my work on Instagram @carrie_maebe
You can see my curatorial projects anytime at Rockford Art Museum. I organize three feature shows in our main galleries each year as well as rotating permanent collection exhibits in our lower gallery.
Contact Info:
- Email: carriejohnson427@gmail.com
- Instagram: carrie_maebe
- Facebook: Carrie Johnson
Image Credit:
James Hogan
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