Carla Rae Johnson
Making art is for me simultaneously an act of rebellion and a gift. When I am in my studio working, I am defying logical, practical, socially acceptable norms. My work fits no trend or cubbyhole within the defining art establishment. It is neither formalist nor purely conceptual, neither abstract nor figurative, neither narrative nor surrealist, though it borrows from each of these traditions.
I love the spaces between sculpture and poetry; between the dream and waking consciousness; between movement and stasis; between action and contemplation; between masculine and feminine; between art and science; between intellect and passion; between truth and beauty. Such energized spaces and contradictory forces have always fueled my daily reality and my art. It is in the interstices between formal categories that exciting tensions and reciprocating energies reside.
My work is directly connected to ideas and often addresses issues of social, political, and cultural import. As an artist, I find the most challenging forms and concepts at the intersection of the visual and the verbal. I delight in communicating insights with humor, word-play, and not just a little irony. My work includes drawings, sculptures, conceptual works, installations, interactive art, and performances. My favored media include ideas, wood, drawings, assemblage, metals, plastics, concrete, clay, and words. I thrive in the solitude of the studio, and, also, in collaboration with other creative artists.
