Michael Johnson, Ellamatta Mauve

MICHAEL JOHNSON (Australia, b. 1938) “Ellamatta Mauve” Created  2002 #medium Oil on canvas dimensions Size: 183x183 cm Frame Size: same Acquired: 2004 #Inventory/Catalogue No. 109676

Biography:

After completing studies at the Julian Ashton Art School in Sydney, Michael Johnston departed for London, in 1960, where he spent the following seven years, immersing himself in the local arts scene, painting full time, and working as a studio assistant to British sculptors Brian Wall and Anthony Caro. Returning to Sydney in 1967, he commenced his practice with two significant exhibitions; one at Gallery A based in Melbourne, a gallery committed to the promotion of promotion of contemporary non-objective art in Australia[1], and the second, “The Field”, a landmark show and the inaugural exhibition held at the National Gallery of Victoria in 1968.

Given the timing and context of Johnson’s commencement as a professional practising artist, it is perhaps no coincidence that he favoured abstraction; his work has the hallmarks of an intuitive sense of composition and colour. Additionally, Johnson also travelled to New York during this period, and again, immersed himself in the buoyant arts scene of the time, drawing upon these experiences to further develop his work and eventually a ‘signature’ style; lyrical interpretations of the Australian landscape in splashes of color, vibrancy and texture.

Michael Johnson has exhibited widely both nationally and internationally, and was included in the seminal exhibitions, ‘The Field’, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (1968); the UNESCO Biennale, France (1968); the São Paulo Bienal, Brazil (1969); and The Australian Biennale, Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney (1988).

Among Johnson’s awards and commissions are works for the Sydney Conference Centre and the State Bank of New South Wales, Sydney. He is represented in all major Australian state and regional collections, New Zealand’s Chartwell Collection, and in numerous significant corporate and private collections in Australia and overseas. A substantial monograph on Michael Johnson’s work was published by Beagle Press in 2004.

View:

More works by Michael Johnson are held in the collection of The National Gallery of Victoria

Listen:

Hear more about Michael Johnson’s practice as he speaks with fellow artist Dr James Gleeson AO