Today we’d like to introduce you to Aja Johnson.
Every artist has a unique story. Can you briefly walk us through yours?
I grew up in Newton, MA. In 1998 I moved to Brooklyn, NY to attend Pratt Institute. Graduated in 2002 with a BFA in Art and Design Education with a concentration of Fine Arts. I didn’t make work for a long time. Moved back to Boston, got married, had two kids, moved to Mexico for a few years. In 2010 I came back to Boston with my children because my son has autism and it was impossible to find appropriate services in Mexico. There were many stressful years as a single mother caring for a child with special needs, with little to no time or space to make art. Now that my kids are older and my son is doing better, I am finally back in a place where I can maintain a somewhat full-time art practice. I have only been actively showing in the Boston area for the past year and a half or so, and it’s been amazing.
Please tell us about your art.
I consider myself an interdisciplinary artist as I am interested in utilizing a variety of media and materials for communication, but recently my focus has been on painting. Abstract painting, specifically, using acrylic. I like to think of my paintings as physical and visual representations of anxiety or panic. My work is generally on the larger side, as I like to employ scale as a means for creating an overwhelming viewing experience. The paintings themselves take weeks or even months. I build up layers slowly. One method is to pour fluid paint or ink onto the surface and then manipulate the canvas in different ways, sometimes dripping the excess onto another canvas. Another is to scrape unmixed paint together onto the canvas with a palette knife. I use drawing utensils, markers, collage, pretty much anything that will build up a kind of abstract topography of chaos.
My influences are varied, but I am presently preoccupied with the circus of the current administration; there’s a lot going on in there. Not just the actual fear that we are all going to die in a nuclear attack any day now, but also the fact that we just keep repeating the same mistakes over and over again with no insight causes me a lot of anxiety.
I like to borrow from pop culture to name my pieces. I get a lot of titles from song lyrics, or statements I have heard on podcasts, cause, you know, we have to laugh at the absurdity of it all, right?
As an artist, how do you define success and what quality or characteristic do you feel is essential to success as an artist?
Oooh boy. I am constantly revising what my parameters of success look like. I think, in an ideal world, success would mean not having to have another full-time job. But some days I feel like it’s enough that people know who I am and like what I am making. It changes every day.
If I have learned anything though, it’s that success is near to impossible without an insane amount of hustle. It seems counterintuitive, but a huge component of being an artist has nothing to do with making art; it’s applying to shows/grants/residencies/etc., it’s going to other people’s shows and making connections, it’s figuring out how to file your taxes properly, it’s spending hours writing your statement/bio, it’s taking photos and updating your website, it’s essentially being capable of handling the business side of responsibility. It’s rare to be successful in the art world without having to really hustle.
How or where can people see your work? How can people support your work?
Currently I have a two person show up with the amazing Lori Mehta at Beacon Gallery in SoWa, that’s up until the 19th of June. I do have some things lined up for the summer but am still working out the details. People can check out my website, www.ajajohnson.com and of course they can follow me on Instagram @ajajohnsonart
I would like to say that it is so important right now to support artists of all kinds. Go out to shows, BUY ARTWORK from people you like. Go to new places, travel a bit to check out that new gallery, get out of your comfort zone. But most importantly, BUY ART. Making art is a job like any other, but we can’t be successful without patronage. When you support artists, you support your community. Boston has SO MUCH potential to be the new great art city; we have the talent, we have the schools, we have the spaces, we have the money, we just need people to pay attention!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.ajajohnson.com
- Email: info@ajajohnson.com
- Instagram: @ajajohnsonart
Image Credit:
@ Aja Johnson
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