Aaron Johnson

A conversation with painter Aaron Johnson on the occasion of Other Earths, his first exhibition with Almine Rech in Brussels.

Interview by Dan Golden

Hi Aaron. I’d like to start our conversation by learning what the title of the exhibition, “Other Earths” means to you.

Other Earths is also the title of the largest painting in the exhibition. In this painting, pairs of lovers appear to be conjoining their energies in order to manifest new Earths. A multitude of small Earths float across this huge canvas. I’m thinking about the infinitely expansive multiverse, where it is infinitely possible for other earth-like planets to exist. I’m also thinking about how we humans have mistreated this Earth and each other, and maybe there are alternate Earths where alternate earthlings have done better, and are better to each other.

There are a number of elements that show up throughout your work in this exhibition; eyes, earth, rainbows, birds, hats, etc. What drew you to these symbols?

Eyes are definitely prominent. The way I paint, there may be an area of hazy color that is abstract, until I add eyes, and then the abstraction becomes alive, with an abstract: figure dichotomy. The rainbows are not exactly rainbows, but rather an energy that flows from one figure to the next, and a hard-edged device to contrastingly punctuate the atmospheric fields of color. The birds are intermediaries between our bodily world and the spirit world. With hats, I’m attracted to the shape and giving a sense of mysterious character to the figures.

Aaron Johnson, Other Earths, 2021, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels

A few references came to mind as I viewed the exhibition, and I was curious if they might have been in your mind at all when creating this body of work: Peter Max, Magritte, Carlos Castaneda/The Teachings of Don Juan/Shamanism…

Cool that you had those associations, while I wasn’t thinking specifically of those you reference. In broader terms, yes: 1960s psychedelia, surrealism, shamanism, and spiritualism are all at play in my motivations. And I actually didn’t know about The Teachings of Don Juan, but now I’m excited to read it!

Your work combines chance (pouring paint directly on raw canvas) and control (finely painted details) — how do you balance those two seemingly disparate approaches?

I am working in the lineage of Color Field stain painting because I love letting paint be a force of nature, fluid and unpredictable. The hard-edged and detailed passages provide a different way of working and looking, adding complexity to the work.

Looking over your work from the past five or ten years, how would you say your interests or approach has evolved— both from a process standpoint and from a psychological/philosophical perspective?

Ten years ago I was making highly detailed paintings that involved painting backward and peeling paint skins. Five years ago I was making paintings with old socks glued onto canvas for a thick impasto. Psychologically, ten years ago my work was more political; five years ago it was more absurd. Now my work, both in-process and philosophy, is more ethereal and otherworldly.

Aaron Johnson, Sky Rise with Hawk Flight, 2021, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels

Aaron Johnson, Other Earths (installation view), 2021, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels

Aaron Johnson, Other Earths (installation view), 2021, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels

Aaron Johnson, Other Earths (installation view), 2021, Almine Rech Gallery, Brussels

You work on both monumental and intimate scales. What is the power for you in each? (i.e. what is a large painting able to do for you, what is a small painting able to do/convey?)

I love working small, the intimacy and power in a strong small painting is a magical thing. And it’s a thrill to work really big. The biggest piece in this show is the biggest I’ve made ever at 9x12 feet. The large scale allows me to really get into the Abstract Expressionist mode of action painting, and I can be superfluid with the paint, and let it really flow and spread. I love how a monumental painting transcends the pictorial, maybe doesn’t even need to make sense as an image, but rather offers an immersive visual field that must be experienced in person.

What are you reading and/or watching right now? (love to know and share anything you recommend with readers)

I’m reading Patti Smith’s Just Kids, and The Physics of God by Joseph Selbie. I just watched Behind her Eyes, and Disney’s Soul was also great. And I’m listening to a lot of Alice Coltrane and Sun Ra, the best music for painting vibes.

I’m curious to hear who is a part of your core artistic/creative community?

I’m grateful to be part of an extensive artist community, and it’s tough to name some knowing I’m forgetting many. But here's a short list: Elizabeth Glaessner, Rico Gatson, David Williams, Hiba Schahbaz, Koichi Sato, Ryan Schneider, Maja Ruznic, Derrick Adams, Andrew Sendor, Christian Rex Van Minnen, Jenny Morgan, Rebecca Morgan, Kadar Brock, Gosha Levochkin, Liz Neilsen, Alison Blickle, Eliot Greenwald, Nicasio Fernandez, Tom Sanford, Alison Elizabeth Taylor.

“I am working in the lineage of Color Field stain painting because I love letting paint be a force of nature, fluid and unpredictable. The hard-edged and detailed passages provide a different way of working and looking, adding complexity to the work.”

— Aaron Johnson

What is a typical day for you in and out of the studio?

Coffee at 7 am. Walk the chihuahuas. Studio at 8 am. I think my early morning mind, meditative and dreaming, is the best for the atmospheric fluid work. I usually have one of my two chihuahuas with me. I’ll take a walk home for a quick lunch and maybe swap chihuahuas. And I’ll work until 5ish; the afternoon energy is a little different and good for fine-tuning, solving the visual puzzles I may have poured onto the canvas in the morning, and adding elements with tight detail. When the painting day is done, I may go for a run or a long dog walk. Then cook some dinner, hang out with my wife, drink a beer, watch TV or read, and go to sleep at 10 or 11.

How has the last year been, living and working in New York during the pandemic?

Early in the pandemic was intense. Just eerily quiet, with ambulance sirens often in the background. Working for me has been somewhat of a constant, as I always had access to my studio, so I could paint as I normally would, which was key to my sanity. As the year progressed the “new normal” really set in and we’ve all kind of adjusted, living our hermit lives, all isolated together.

Looking forward, what is your hope for yourself and the world in 2021 and beyond?

For myself, I just plan to keep on painting, and looking forward to some travel and seeing family after it’s been so long. For the world, may we all respect science and nature and treat each other with more kindness.

Aaron Johnson in his studio, New York, 2021