Matter Studio Gallery
is honored to announce a solo exhibition
with
Woody Johnson
Titled
MATTER OF FACT
June 18, – July 16, 2023
OPENING RECEPTION
June 18th, 2023 4-8 PM
Matter of Fact, a Solo Exhibition by Woody Johnson
Woody Johnson
Artist
For more than fifty years, sculptor and painter Woody Johnson has been an active member of the Bay Area arts community in a variety of capacities—as an art teacher, university lecturer, artist-in-residence, curator, and gallery board member. His work has been featured in both group and solo exhibitions across the country, and he has been commissioned for city and school projects. His involvement in the arts community has been as varied and diverse and his work itself. Formally trained as a sculptor, his work has expanded into printmaking, painting, and photography. Inspired by his travels around the globe, Woody Johnson embodies the consummate artist. His dedication and perseverance over many decades of art-making is fueled by a tireless commitment to both his craft and his community.
Starting his artistic career as a sculptor, his appreciation for wood as an artistic
medium came from his father, who was a cabinetmaker in North Carolina. After
studying graphics and sculpture at the California College of Arts and Crafts, he
traveled to Nigeria to study with master Yoruba sculptor Lamidi Fakeye. He has used his skills as a sculptor to produce safe and culturally-stimulating environments for children—one of which is still in existence today, some fifty years later.
In 1968, Woody Johnson traveled to Bolivia, where he lived for two years as a Peace Corps volunteer. Later, he traveled to Europe, where he spent time studying pre-Columbian pottery at various museums. What he witnessed in the Peruvian pots would become the impetus and inspiration for a series of block prints titled “Monkey See, Monkey Do” or “the Monkey Series” See, Monkey Do” or “The Monkey Series.” This series would become one of his most popular and widely recognized works. A print from the series was used for a promotional
poster for Ethiopian filmmaker Haile Gerima’s “Wilmington 10, USA 10,000”
presented by the African Film Society in 1979. That same year, Black Scholar magazine used the same print for the cover of their issue focused on human rights. The Black Panther, Black Community News Service, used one of his prints for a cover for the February 1991 issue #23, where Sheba Haven reviewed Shaharezad Ali’s book titled “What every Black Man Should Know about the Black Woman”
“My goal as an artist is to create a work of art that is representative of our
culture and speaks with a voice of all humankind. Throughout history, people have created art to document their presence. I would like for my work to be that document—one of many documents. What I hope people will see and feel in this documentation is that it’s something they would like to have represent them after they’re gone.” _Woody Johnson
Gallery Hours: Friday 4-6 PM and Saturday and Sunday, 12-6 PM
Private appointments are also available.
Contact Gallerist Karla Funderburk at 323-697-4988
