Jess Johnson

{{Infobox artist

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| birth_date = 1979

| birth_place = Tauranga, New Zealand

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| nationality = New Zealand

| education = Canterbury University

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| known_for = drawings, virtual reality

| notable_works = Ixian Gate (2015) (w/ Simon Ward), Whol Why Wurld (2017) (w/ Simon Ward), TERMINUS (2018) (w/Simon Ward)

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Jess Johnson (born 1979) is a New York-based New Zealand contemporary artist who works in drawing, installation, animation, and virtual reality. Her drawings depict alternative realms while her collaborations with Simon Ward and Andrew Clarke adapt the world of her drawings into video animations and virtual reality.

Early life and education

Jess Johnson was born in Tauranga, New Zealand in 1979. She grew up in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand and attended University of Canterbury in Christchurch from 1997 to 2001, where she earned a BFA.{{Cite web|url=https://www.monash.edu/muma/exhibitions/exhibition-archive/2009/jess-johnson-And-jordan-marani|title=Jess Johnson & Jordan Marani: Home Is Where My Hell Is – Monash University Museum of Art|website=www.monash.edu|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=7 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180507215501/https://www.monash.edu/muma/exhibitions/exhibition-archive/2009/jess-johnson-And-jordan-marani|url-status=dead}}

Career

In 2004 she moved to Melbourne, Australia, where she co-founded and ran Hell Gallery from 2008 to 2011.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/media_release/jess-johnson-wurm-haus/|title=Jess Johnson: Wurm Haus {{!}} NGV|website=www.ngv.vic.gov.au|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=27 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180827081045/https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/media_release/jess-johnson-wurm-haus/|url-status=live}} She began exhibiting her work in group and solo shows throughout Australia and New Zealand, including shows at institutions such as the Museum of Contemporary Art in Sydney and the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

In 2016 she relocated permanently to New York City after participating in the Australia Council's Greene Street residency in SoHo.{{citation needed|date=April 2022}}

Works

= Drawings =

Johnson's drawings typically include bold colours, repetitive and fractal geometric shapes, humanoid figures, alien creatures, and structures that draw from both classical and ancient architecture. They have been likened to the work of Japanese pop-psychedelia artist Keiichi Tanaami.{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jess-johnson-sci-fi-drawings_us_57310970e4b096e9f09264b9|title=Sci-Fi Drawings Explore A World Beyond Reality And Today's Technology|last=Frank|first=Priscilla|date=10 May 2016|work=Huffington Post|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=22 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160522212352/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/jess-johnson-sci-fi-drawings_us_57310970e4b096e9f09264b9|url-status=live}} Although the detail and precision of her drawings suggest digital composition, the drawings are all done by hand. Mistakes made during the creation of her drawings "act as mutational directions" that she incorporates into them. She has said: "If I were able to digitally erase my mistakes, I wouldn't necessarily get that organic growth in the world. I like that it's a little out of my control and driven by something else."

About Johnson's drawings, Chloe Mandryk of Art Almanac wrote:

Jess Johnson's complex and sensuous images use bold colour and a geometric bravura that conjure the glow and kinaesthesia of arcade video games and the 'wormholes' of speculative thought so key to good science fiction. Her humanoids occupy a virtual reality {{sic|comprised |hide=y|of}} patterns and ancient architectural forms that delineate the boundaries of these imagined spaces.{{Cite news|url=http://www.art-almanac.com.au/jess-johnson-hex-nemesis/|title=Jess Johnson: Hex Nemesis – Art Almanac|date=2017-05-31|work=Art Almanac|access-date=2018-03-15}}

Johnson has discussed the role of text in the creation of her drawings:

Whenever I start a new drawing I first choose a piece of text from one of my notebooks. The text is almost always the starting point. Whatever amorphous vibe the words give off determines the imagery that comes. The phrases are often rhythmic and I choose them because they get stuck in my head like thought-worms. The text plays a really practical role in the construction of the drawings. The letters and words are like scaffolding and I often arrange the composition around them. The number of letters gives me mathematical starting points for mapping out other areas.{{Cite web|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/artist-profile-jess-johnson-and-the-new-language-of_us_57865c1de4b0b107a2402e72|title=Artist Profile: Jess Johnson and the New Language of Virtual Reality|last=Szilak|first=Illya|date=2016-07-13|website=Huffington Post|access-date=2018-03-16|archive-date=13 October 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161013075049/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/artist-profile-jess-johnson-and-the-new-language-of_us_57865c1de4b0b107a2402e72|url-status=live}}

= Animation and virtual reality =

In 2014, Johnson began collaborating with video artist Simon Ward to adapt her drawings into animated video. Their first collaborative work, the single-channel high-definition digital video Mnemonic Pulse, premiered at Gertrude Contemporary in Melbourne in March 2014.{{Cite web|url=http://www.gertrude.org.au/exhibitions/gallery-11/past-14/studio-12--jess-johnson-and-simon-ward--mnemonic-pulse.phps|title=STUDIO 12: JESS JOHNSON AND SIMON WARD, MNEMONIC PULSE|website=Gertrude Contemporary|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=27 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180327103341/http://gertrude.org.au/exhibitions/gallery-11/past-14/studio-12--jess-johnson-and-simon-ward--mnemonic-pulse.phps|url-status=dead}} Composer Andrew Clarke created original audio for the piece and continues to collaborate with Johnson and Ward.{{Cite web |last=Farr |first=Kristin |title=Juxtapoz Magazine - Jess Johnson: Infinite Quest |url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/jess-johnson-infinite-quest/ |access-date=2022-07-24 |website=www.juxtapoz.com |language=en-gb |archive-date=5 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220705225454/https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/magazine/features/jess-johnson-infinite-quest/ |url-status=live }}

The first virtual reality work created by Johnson, Ward, and Clarke, Ixian Gate, premiered in 2015 as the centrepiece of Johnson's solo exhibition, WURM HAUS, at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne.{{Cite news|url=https://killscreen.com/versions/the-gorgeous-unsettling-worlds-of-jess-johnson/|title=The gorgeous, unsettling worlds of Jess Johnson – Versions|date=10 March 2016|work=Versions|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513080926/https://killscreen.com/versions/the-gorgeous-unsettling-worlds-of-jess-johnson/|url-status=live}}

Johnson and Ward then began creating a series of five HD video animations, each of which translated a single drawing by Johnson. In 2017, these videos premiered at The National 2017 at Carriageworks in Sydney as the installation piece WHOL WHY WURLD. The work was a finalist for the 2018 Walters Prize.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12018019|title=Walters Prize nominees announced|date=22 March 2018|work=NZ Herald|access-date=27 August 2018|language=en-NZ|issn=1170-0777}}

In May 2017, Johnson and Ward received a commission from the National Gallery of Australia (Canberra) for a major new virtual reality work as part of the Balnaves Contemporary Intervention Series. Five new VR pieces premiered as part of Terminus, Johnson and Ward's exhibition at the NGA, opening 4 May 2018.{{Cite web|url=https://nga.gov.au/balnaves/default.cfm|title=Balnaves Contemporary Art Intervention|website=National Gallery of Australia|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=14 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180514121602/https://nga.gov.au/balnaves/default.cfm|url-status=live}}

Influences

Johnson has identified a wide range of influences including the ideas of Terence McKenna;{{Cite news|url=https://filthydreams.org/2017/10/28/caught-in-eternal-digital-glitches-a-conversation-with-jess-johnson/|title=Caught In Eternal Digital Glitches: A Conversation With Jess Johnson|date=28 October 2017|work=Filthy Dreams|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513153021/https://filthydreams.org/2017/10/28/caught-in-eternal-digital-glitches-a-conversation-with-jess-johnson/|url-status=live}} Frank Herbert's Dune and the works of Alejandro Jodorowsky;{{Cite news|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/dune-psychedelic-vr-immersive-exhibition/|title=Dune Meets Psychedelic VR in a New Immersive Art Experience|date=15 August 2016|work=Creators|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513152309/https://creators.vice.com/en_us/article/53wvjq/dune-psychedelic-vr-immersive-exhibition|url-status=live}} the dystopian novel Riddley Walker by Russell Hoban; early video games; and comics.

Exhibitions

= Selected solo exhibitions =

Core Dump, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY, 2022{{cite web |title=Jack Hanley Gallery Core Dump |url=https://www.artforum.com/artguide/jack-hanley-gallery-2091/core-dump-203320 |website=ArtForum |access-date=25 April 2022}}
Neon Meat Dream, Nanzuka Gallery, Tokyo, Japan, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/installation/neon-meat-dream-the-otherworldly-work-of-jess-johnson-nanzuka-underground-tokyo/|title=Juxtapoz Magazine - Neon Meat Dream: The Otherworldly Work of Jess Johnson @ Nanzuka Underground, Tokyo|access-date=30 January 2020|archive-date=22 December 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222115425/https://www.juxtapoz.com/news/installation/neon-meat-dream-the-otherworldly-work-of-jess-johnson-nanzuka-underground-tokyo/|url-status=live}}
Panspermia, Sing Omega, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY, 2019{{Cite web|url=https://www.artforum.com/artguide/jack-hanley-gallery-2091/panspermia-sing-omega-174712|title=Panspermia, Sing Omega|access-date=30 January 2020|archive-date=6 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200806211713/https://www.artforum.com/artguide/jack-hanley-gallery-2091/panspermia-sing-omega-174712|url-status=live}}
Terminus (w/ Simon Ward), National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, 2018
Auckland Art Fair, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2018
Everything not saved will be lost, Jack Hanley Gallery, New York, NY, 2017{{Cite web|url=http://www.jackhanley.com/exhibitions/jess-johnson|title=Jess Johnson – Exhibitions – Jack Hanley Gallery|website=www.jackhanley.com|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=10 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180510235410/http://www.jackhanley.com/exhibitions/jess-johnson|url-status=live}}
Jess Johnson at CLIFT, presented by FOUR A.M, San Francisco, CA, 2017
Hex Nemesis, Fremantle Arts Centre, Fremantle, Australia, 2017{{Cite news|url=https://www.fac.org.au/whats-on/post/jess-johnson-hex-nemesis/|title=Jess Johnson {{!}} Hex Nemesis – Fremantle Arts Centre|work=Fremantle Arts Centre|access-date=16 March 2018}}
Chondrule Terminus (w/ Andrew Clarke), Dark Mofo: Welcome Stranger, Tasmania, Australia, 2017
Darren Knight Gallery, Discoveries Section, Art Basel, Hong Kong, 2016
Eclectrc Panoptic, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh, Scotland, 2017
Wurm Haus, National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia, 2015
Sensorium Chamber, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2015
Endless Future Terror Forever, Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, Australia, 2015
Gertrude Edition 2015, Gertrude Contemporary Art Spaces, Melbourne, Australia, 2015
Electric Affinity: Jess Johnson/Tina Havelock Stevens, Alaska Projects, Sydney, Australia, 2015
Ratholes in the Babylon of Information, Ivan Anthony Gallery, Auckland, New Zealand, 2014
Gamma World, Vivid Festival, MCA Facade, Sydney, Australia, 2014
Mnemonic Pulse, Gertrude Contemporary Studio 12, Melbourne, Australia, 2014

Awards

John McCaughey Memorial Prize, acquisitive commission for National Gallery of Victoria, Australia, 2013{{Cite web|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/111424/|title=Void game (2013) Jess JOHNSON|website=National Gallery of Victoria|access-date=16 March 2018|archive-date=14 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114143022/https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/work/111424/|url-status=live}}

Collections

Jess Johnson's works are held in the following permanent collections:

Christchurch Art Gallery, New Zealand (3 works){{Cite web|url=https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/?artist=3122|title=Collection – Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetu|last=Johnson|first=Jess|website=christchurchartgallery.org.nz|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=14 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114141750/https://christchurchartgallery.org.nz/collection/?artist=3122|url-status=live}}
James Wallace Arts Trust, Auckland, New Zealand (2 works){{Cite web|url=http://www.collection.wallaceartstrust.org.nz/collection/search.do?id=6274&db=person&view=detail&mode=1|title=Jess Johnson|website=www.collection.wallaceartstrust.org.nz|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513153046/http://www.collection.wallaceartstrust.org.nz/collection/search.do?id=6274&db=person&view=detail&mode=1|url-status=dead}}
National Gallery of Australia, Canberra, Australia
Museum of Contemporary Art, NSW Australia (1 work){{Cite web|url=https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/jess-johnson/|title=Jess Johnson|website=www.mca.com.au|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513223547/https://www.mca.com.au/artists-works/artists/jess-johnson/|url-status=live}}
Monash University Museum of Art, VIC Australia (3 works){{Cite web|url=http://65.99.230.190/search.do?view=label&field-0=PROD_PRI_PERSON&value-0=Johnson,+Jess|title=Monash University Collection Online Database|website=65.99.230.190|access-date=15 March 2018}}{{Dead link|date=April 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}
Michael Buxton Collection] Melbourne, Australia (3 works){{Cite web|url=http://michaelbuxtoncollection.com.au/the-collection/243|title=Jess Johnson – MBC|website=michaelbuxtoncollection.com.au|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=11 March 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311150833/http://michaelbuxtoncollection.com.au/the-collection/243|url-status=dead}}
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia (14 works){{Cite web|url=https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/artist/20242/|title=Jess JOHNSON {{!}} Artists {{!}} NGV|website=www.ngv.vic.gov.au|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=14 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181114143030/https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/explore/collection/artist/20242/|url-status=live}}
Artbank, NSW Australia (2 works){{Cite web|url=http://artbank.gov.au/search/profile/13673|title=ARTBANK : Jess Johnson|access-date=15 March 2018|archive-date=13 May 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180513223725/http://artbank.gov.au/search/profile/13673|url-status=live}}