Linda Johnson, Sculptor
Linda Johnson is a sculptor and her work has been represented at the Finer Things Gallery since it opened in 1998. The galley has chosen her work to be a part of their exhibits for the SOFA shows and the AAF in Chicago and New York. Linda has exhibited her work throughout the state, as well as Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, and West Virginia. Her work has been accepted in regional and national competitions. She has been the recipient of a number of first place and best of show awards. Her work is in permanent collections in the White House, Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital, and Cheekwood’s Owls Hill. Clay is Linda’s primary medium but she is able to find the material that best fits the piece. Her works range from large steel and fiberglass structures to small polymers or water putty renderings. She frequently creates a small prototype, from wire armature and water putty, to better understand the concept of a larger, completed work. Finishing the surface usually differs with each piece. Linda often combines urethanes, pigments and oxides to achieve her desired effects. Her more recent work has included a large architectural structure created with steel and copper. The 16 foot copper leaf and frog was worked and colored with hot patinas and steel wool. This took a year to complete and was her first site specific, installation. (Photo by Cella Neapolitan)
My work is actually a visual record of my maturing spirit. Each work marks a plateau of personal growth. I try to focus on the inherent honesty and purity of each expression. Each piece holds peculiar complexities; some are unpredictable and others are strategically placed. The physical challenge comes in recognizing the complimentary quirks and then using them to enhance the focus of the piece. I find great satisfaction in creating from the place where image and emotion coincide.
I find just as much satisfaction in the response of the viewer. Each work is formed with the anticipation of the viewer’s eye stopping to study, moving quickly then pausing again. Like a ballet, stirring a different emotion with every move.
With each piece I try to incorporate a sense of mystery and fascination, eluding prediction, stretching and altering perceptions. I use my work to provoke and inspire creative analysis of space, rhythm and movement while keeping close ties with a vaguely familiar form. I consider my work simply a link between artist and viewer sharing the same intimate experience.
