more written

“In her fourth solo show at Lisa Harris Gallery since 2000, Victoria Johnson,

a Seattle based artist who began exhibiting in 1979, makes paintings that recall

mid-century abstraction’s concerns with process, action and expressionism, but

are not done in an appropriative or ironic way.....The incorporation of chance

is produced by the material , working process in Johnson’s paintings. Because

of the enticing use of color and combinations of transparent and opaque paint

applications, Johnson’s paintings are misleadingly decorative. 

Johnson’s material images are cultivated through the movement of gesture and

the use of mineral and organic pigments. Her disciplined method prioritizes the

event over the finished object, however capable her use of color or balanced

accumulation of form. The broad gesture used to create each individual shape

is accomplished by wiping away around the form. The puzzle-piece shapes and 

arching strokes give way under the material phenomenon of transparent application

 of oil paint, visually extending the space “behind” the surface, dropping back and

reconfiguring the relationships between the forms within the painting. This neutralizes

 the integrity of the interlocking shapes and complicates the space of the image in a

 sophisticated and interesting way. 

Abaris has a green-yellow form that easily shifts into the character of ground at

the left of the panel and is counterbalanced by a portion of rich aqua at the upper right.

A translucent rust-colored organic shape arcs down from the upper center, reaching

around to the left in the center of the canvas. The other painted structures support and

interact with these larger shapes through the addition of their color, transparency or solidity.”

Elizabeth Pence

Artweek, August 2006

“Because of the early and sustained success with figurative art, the gallery has occasionally

been misrepresented on focusing only on representational painting, but Harris is quick to

point out that she has shown nonobjective, formalist work from the start. The works vary

in subject matter and style, but are linked by strong aesthetics, a balance that can be seen

particularly in two works in the show: an inviting landscape by Emily Wood, and a sort of 

mod geometric abstraction by Victoria Johnson. Very different subjects, but both works are 

abounding with warmth and visual interest.”

Gayle Clemans

Seattle Times, August 2009

Lisa Harris Gallery Celebrates 25 Years

"Johnson shows a flawless command of her paint brush in her work, cutting in precise strokes of pigment, 

sometimes thinly veiled over layers below with more solid color, delicately overlapping another. The effect 

is a calm blend of rhythmic, undulating waves, which almost appear to be cut from paper."

Deborah Boileau
Director

Sopa Fine Arts

Kelowna, BC

“Your studies for the “Diamond Fantasies” are incredibly emotionally charged. They
feelboth disjointed and complete. There is a sense of erratic movement while remaining
tightand confident. I think there is a new depth in these studies that I hadn't seen as much
in thepast- meaning, they have a porthole affect. I feel like I"m falling into them a bit...
they feelmore like metaphysical landscapes...”

Amanda Dellinger 

Assistant to the Director
Lisa Harris Gallery

March 2010