David Johnson, A-V 4, Gouache and Collage on Paper, 14 X 21"

Watercolor and Collage on Paper, 14 X 21"

For this diptych, Dave is playing with the phenomenon of Averted Vision - a way of looking, mostly deployed in astronomical viewing - that involves looking at an object through one's peripheral vision. This series of paired paintings are uniquely Dave - and feel colossal in theme while humble in scale.

I hope that, with these paired paintings, when you're looking at one side, your peripheral vision will take in something, some essence or a flare of a sparkle from the other side. Your brain takes it in in a different way. -D.J. 

The interplay between the abstract forms on the left and his trompe l'oeil rendering of a ticket stub on the right expresses Dave's vast technical toolset. But it hints at a deeper thematic in his work - and the artist's ability to encode meaning:

A lot of the paintings I do are either for a person or about a person. They're very personal. They're kind of like coded personal messages for for people or about people. And a lot of times it's about loss - they're not either physically in the area where you can visit with them or they're in different plane. -D.J.