Wade Johnson

Artist Statement

Over the years my work has evolved in a number of ways but there are constants that show up. Themes or subject matter that surfaces along with mark making and compositional elements. More often than not, the work makes references to social or economic perceptions of society as presented by mass media and how it is interpreted or injected decades later. How the American Dream was presented in magazines, on TV and through pop culture versus the reality of what was actually taking place at the time. There are often references to TV shows, celebrities, or pop culture from the 1960s, 70s and 80s but without a defined storyline or narrative. The work is left open ended for the viewer to draw their own conclusions based on the personal experiences that they bring to the work.Images are combined with abstract marks, lines and washes to create visual tension. Subjects are blurred or obscured to create a dream like representation or something akin to a weak broadcast signal that is still lingering years after it has been sent. The work uses both traditional and digital tools to create the final pieces often combining found photographs with photographs I have taken, scanned painted washes and marks, hand drawn line work, prints and collaged elements. No AI ever is used in the process.

Art Work Process

My work is produced using both traditional and digital tools. I’ve been using Photoshop since version 1 came out around 1991 and over the years it has become a regular part of the process. Typically the work begins by scanning painted marks and washes that are separated out using a combination of luminance masks and duplicate channels. The same applies to line work created using colored pencils, graphite, or ink. Once the marks have been separated from the background they are copied into a new digital file where they are combined with photographs and other elements to create the main composition. Often these digital files will be as many as 100 layers deep and over a gigabyte in size. The digital file is sent to a large format printer where it is output as anarchical pigment print on 310 GSM paper. At this point the print is either mounted to a cradled wood panel or treated with fixative so it can be further worked with traditional mediums like acrylic paint, colored pencil, graphite, or ink. If the print isn’t mounted it will be worked on it’s own as a 1 of 1 piece. These prints are never produced as part of a closed or open edition. Each one is unique since the post printing applications can’t be duplicated. This process developed out of a desire to create work that has a similar look to stone or plate lithography. Both of which require a considerable amount of space, the use of toxic chemicals, and in the case of large stones, heavy machinery to move them. The look of lithography is something I have been drawn to since art school. Combining traditional mark making with photographic elements also got it start there when I discovered photolitho plates and how to combine them with litho stones to produce a final piece. While the look isn’t exactly like traditional lithography, it does have certain qualities that are close. Textures that are flattened out yet retain the essence of the original medium. How the paper texture often enhances the work. The way the pieces are presented with the work floated above the matte so the edges of the paper are exposed. The prices that are mounted to wood panels definitely have more of a painterly quality to them since the rigid substrate allows for heavy post print working of the surface and a deeper build up of acrylic paint.