| Clay Johnson The Last Turn, 2023 Acrylic on panel 24 × 24 in | 61 × 61 cm COLLECTION OF THE FREDERICK R. WEISMAN ART FOUNDATION (Los Angeles) |
Mark Moore Fine Art and the artist are pleased to announce the acquisition of a major work by artist CLAY JOHNSON by The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. Clay Johnson (American, b. 1963) was born in Durham, North Carolina, where he studied art and art history at Duke University, receiving a B.A. degree in 1985. He then worked for several years as assistant to the painter Robert Natkin in Connecticut and New York City. He began showing paintings from his first series of mature work in 1998, and has since exhibited in galleries across the United States and in Europe. His work is represented in collections around the world. Clay began work on his Strata Series shortly after relocating to Wyoming, and, while non-objective in nature, the paintings convey a sense of the wide open landscape of the American west. The Atomic Series continues his exploration of formal concerns—light, color, texture—while introducing a more narrative element inspired by the interactions of subatomic particles. Clay currently lives and works in Laramie, Wyoming. Johnson’s “Strata Series” is a stunning collection of abstract paintings and works on paper that capture the essence of memory and the human experience. Moving to Wyoming, known for its vast open spaces and breathtaking landscapes, served as a major inspiration for his work. While the paintings may not have overt references to the natural world, they convey a powerful sense of the wide-open space and the ever-changing formations of the land. Johnson views his paintings as collections of moments and experiences that have been collaged together. This mirrors the way our minds construct memories, with layers of different moments and experiences blending to create a representation of a person, place, or idea. In a similar way, Johnson layers many sections over one another in his paintings, keeping the parts he likes and painting over or modifying the less memorable elements. This process of editing and layering reflects the way our brains forget certain experiences and focus on others, creating a distorted but meaningful representation of our memories. Upon first glance, the “Strata Series” paintings may appear chaotic and busy, but upon closer inspection, the layers reveal a carefully crafted composition. The many layers are distinct and yet seamlessly blend together to create a cohesive whole. This perfectly captures the complexity of human memory, where seemingly unrelated moments and experiences come together to form a unique and meaningful representation of our lives. By incorporating this concept of memory within his paintings, Johnson invites viewers to contemplate their own memories and the ways in which they construct their own realities. The Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation is dedicated to continuing the legacy and vision of Frederick R. Weisman, an extraordinary entrepreneur, philanthropist, and art collector. He held an uncompromising belief in the cultural value of art and understood the importance of both the individual artist and the creative process. In carrying out Mr. Weisman’s intentions, the Foundation seeks to preserve, collect, and make publicly accessible his collection of modern and contemporary art as a means to strengthen and contribute to the greater artistic and intellectual life of our time. In 1982, Frederick R. Weisman purchased the Los Angeles estate to serve as a showcase for his personal collection of 20th-century art. He and his wife, Billie Milam Weisman, an art conservator and curator, worked together to create a unique environment located within the Mediterranean-style villa. More than four hundred works of art are on display at the Foundation. The collection includes works by European Modernists, including Cezanne, Picasso, and Kandinsky, and Surrealist works by Ernst, Miro, and Magritte. The holdings in postwar art include works by Giacometti, Noguchi, Calder, Rauschenberg, and Johns; Abstract Expressionist paintings by de Kooning, Francis, Still, and Rothko; Color-Field paintings by Frankenthaler, Louis, and Noland; and Pop Art by Warhol, Lichtenstein, Oldenburg, and Rosenquist. Contemporary California works include those by Ruscha and Goode and Super Realist sculptures by Hanson and de Andrea. These holdings are part of a larger collection that Mr. Weisman established as the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in 1982. Currently, under the direction of Billie Milam Weisman, the Foundation continues to make the collection available through loans to museums worldwide, docent tours at the Los Angeles estate, exhibitions in public-art venues, and the funding of several art museums, including the Frederick R. Weisman Museum of Art at Pepperdine University in Malibu, the New Orleans Museum of Art, the San Diego Museum of Art, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, designed by Frank O. Gehry. |
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