Titling a solo exhibition “Group Show” may strike some as contradictory, but Harlan Johnson‘s retrospective at Espace Robert Poulin does feel as though several artists are on display. Johnson has been a painter for 26 years, and over the span of his career he has worked through a variety of subjects and forms of expression. Show de Groupe highlights four series from his body of work: his early work focusing on biological forms, a series of works which include mosaic samples, his Oil Rig series, and his most recent Scotia Series.

Johnson’s paintings live in the space between figuration and abstraction. “I find abstract art to be too restrictive, with too many rules,” explains the artist in a pre-vernissage interview. “Opening my work up to figuration allows me more freedom of expression. In any case, there really is no such thing as truly abstract art. We all reference the figurative in one way or another.” Johnson’s early work does at first blush appear to be abstract: bold shapes float across the picture plane in glowing yellows, luminous blues, and earthy reds. But soon you’ll pick out mushrooms and reeds, flies and a bird’s foot prints. “My inspiration comes from biological forms. Though Robert [Poulin] says that I only use them as an excuse to paint,” says Johnson. He gives me a pensive smile. “I’m not sure that he is right, though. I do care about my subject mater.”

His Oil Rig series speaks to this point. Johnson is a frequent visitor to Louisiana, where he pursues his parallel interest in music. While there he noticed the myriad of oil rigs dotting the Gulf of Mexico, which inspired a series of large-format works depicting these ominous constructions. “I’m exploring a different approach to landscape painting,” explains Johnson. “It is also a very timely subject. The series was begun well before the BP oil spill disaster, but even then I could see the impact the rigs where having on the environment.” The Oil Rigs are my personal favourite, their dark silhouettes towering over the horizon, dark and menacing, these improbable constructions hover over the sea spewing billowing clouds of umber. They are at once beautiful and haunting.

Johnson’s most recent work deals with his East Coast heritage, and is more reminiscent of his playful, earlier work. His Scotia Series is painted on unstretched canvas, and liberating his work from the stretcher allowed the artist to see his work as a truly two-dimensional surface. He now incorporates collage and found imagery, often referencing maps of Nova Scotia as well as historical Acadian sources. “Nova Scotia is really interesting, because of its mix of peoples,” remarks Johnson. “You have the Mi’kmaq, the Scottish and English settlers, the Black Loyalists, the Acadians… there are a lot of cultures to draw from.” It looks as though Johnson’s Scotia Series is developing into another Show de Groupe.

Espace Robert Poulin, space 411
Harlan Johnson
Show de Groupe
December 1, 2011 – January 14, 2012
www.harlanjohnson.com