George Johnson (artist)

George Johnson
Born	(1926-08-18)18 August 1926 Nelson,New Zealand
Died	26 December 2021(2021-12-26)(aged 95)
Nationality	New Zealander/Australian
Education	Theo Schoon
Known for	Painting
Notable work	Mount of the Blue Triangle
Movement	Constructivism
Relatives	Louis Johnson(brother) Tu'u'u Ieti Taulealo(son-in-law)
Awards	Albury Art Prize (1966) Orange Art Prize (1971) Visual Arts Board of the Australia Council Grant (1973, 1977) George's Invitation Art Purchase Prize (1975)

George Henry Johnson(18 August 1926 – 26 December 2021) was a New Zealand artist who made his name in Australia.

Artistic career

Early career

Johnson studied art under the emigre artistTheo Schoon,who confirmed an early commitment tomodernist art,especiallyGeometric Abstraction.He graduated from Wellington Technical College in 1947.

Johnson took influence from Dutch De Stijl, otherwise known as Neoplasticism. This Dutch art movement was based around architecturally structured pieces, similar to how you may view many of Johnson's works. Growing up, this artistic influence was significant as it was at the height of its popularity during Johnson's most impressionable years.

Move to Australia

Johnson relocated toMelbourne,Australia, in 1951 where he was soon drawn into contemporary art circles, mi xing withLeonard French,Roger Kemp,Inge King,Julius Kane,Peter Graham,Clement Meadmoreand others. He held his first solo exhibition there at the age of 30 in 1956, a selection of boldly geometric abstractions that set the art scene buzzing. By this time he was sharing a studio with French and the pair experienced increasing friction from theHeide Circle,a rival group of figurative modernists—includingArthur Boyd,John Perceval,Charles BlackmanandRobert Dickerson—who were still trying to control the Contemporary Art Society. The latter artists eventually formed theAntipodeans Group,staging an exhibition in August 1959, initially to make a stand against Johnson, French, Kemp and a growing number of non-objectivist followers, although increasingly to express their opposition to AmericanAbstract Expressionism,which they feared was about to overwhelm Australian art.

Johnson was represented by the Charles Nodrum Gallery inRichmond.He remained unwaveringly committed to geometric abstraction, producing paintings that were stylistically and intellectually indebted toRussian Constructivism.

Personal life

Johnson was the father of noted Pasifika artistVanya Taule'alo,and the brother of poet and authorLouis Johnson.He died on 26 December 2021, at the age of 95.

See also

• Art of Australia

References

• Johnson, George H. 'Art and the World Around Us: An Essay on Experimental Art',Parent and Child(Wellington, N.Z.) Vol. 3, No. 6, August 1957.
• Johnson, George H. 'Art Education: A Viewpoint',Art Craft Teachers' Association Magazine,(Victoria) No. 16, August 1973
• Zimmer, Jenny,George Johnson and ineluctable abstraction,Art and Australia Vol 24, No.2, Summer 1986.
• McCulloch, Allan,Encyclopedia of Australian Art,Hutchinson, Melbourne 1987.
• Heathcote, Christopher & Zimmer, Jenny,George Johnson: World View,Macmillan Publishers Australia, Melbourne 2006.

External links

• George Johnsonat the Charles Nodrum Gallery
• Mount of the Blue Triangle 1986at theBallarat Fine Art Gallery