It has been almost 5 years since Denver based artist Tsehai Johnson mounted her last solo exhibition "Disorderly" at Plus Gallery, one that had the unusual gravity of being the final show in the gallery's initial space at 2350 Lawrence Street. Johnson's centerpiece for the exhibition, "Exploding Carpet," was a virtual explosion of ceramic forms jumping out of and off the floor. It was easily one of the most memorable works in the first seven years of the gallery history, and one that would emerge back into view three years later at the Center for Visual Arts for their exhibition "Collective Nouns." Since that time Johnson has also mounted works in some of the leading venues in the state, including the Denver Art Museum's major extravaganza "Overthrown: Clay without Limits" in the summer of 2011. Johnson's initial foray into the Denver Art Museum's main exhibition space seemed to mark a particular point in time for Plus Gallery, with other of our respective artists being honored with ambitious exhibitions of depth and stature in major city venues, like Patti Hallock's solo exhibition currently on view at the MCA Denver, Mike Whiting's current outdoor solo exhibition "8-Bit Modern" at the BYU Museum of art, and Bruce Price's upcoming solo show at the DAM this May. And while not known as an artist working in a "public" vein, Johnson has quietly been working on a mammoth Art in Architecture Commission for the Byron Rogers Federal Building in Denver, set to be installed later this summer. All of these attributes are a testament to a formidable and focused career that emphasizes the inherent quality in Denver's contemporary scene.
Works in progress for Byron Rogers Federal Building, Denver
Plus Gallery is pleased to unveil Johnson's latest gallery installation "Fluid Circumvention" this Friday evening, March 1st. For almost 20 years Johnson's ceramic-based art practice has manipulated form in a unique and conceptually appealing way that juxtaposes the domestic with the sexual, the mundane with the messy. Driving her practice are several converging interests, from the clash between fantasy's perfection and the messiness of reality, the close juxtaposition of labor and pleasure in domestic space, and finally an exploration of how the logic and organizing principles of everyday objects reveal the very mutability of life. With "Fluid Circumvention" she explores the powerful effect of massed objects coupled with the small disorders of everyday life in works such as "Swarm," a complex, visually arresting two-wall installation featuring mutating cups, each appearing as actual liquid in motion. Johnson's work nudges us to inhabit each living moment with more esthetic attentiveness and to find the poetic potential in the everyday.
Detail from the installation "Swarm"
Born in Ethiopia in 1966, Tsehai Johnson received degrees from Reed College, Massachusetts College of Art, and the University of Colorado. Exhibitions of note in recent years include Biennale Internationale de Vallauris, Magnelli Museum (France), White Columns (New York City, NY,), the Denver Art Museum (Colorado), Ft. Collins Museum of Contemporary Art (Colorado), Boulder Museum of Contemporary Art (Colorado), University of Wyoming Art Gallery (Wyoming), and the World Ceramic Biennale (Korea). Collections of note include the Museum of Ceramics (New York), Museum of Outdoor Arts (Colorado), and the Reyzjanesbaer Art Museum, (Iceland). She is the recipient of a Colorado Council of the Arts Fellowship and residencies in Spain, Iceland and at PlatteForum in Denver, Colorado in conjunction with the 2010 Biennial of the Americas. Johnson is currently an Assistant Professor in the Art Department at Metropolitan State College of Denver..
Please join us this Friday in welcoming Tsehai Johnson back and to view her latest efforts in "Fluid Circumvention" from 6:30-9pm.
