Dion Johnson’s paintings combine and explore dynamic opposites: expansiveness and compression, darkness and light. Johnson uses color to evoke the contemporary urban, digital and natural landscape of Southern California, and skews the vocabulary of abstraction into a hybrid techno-language. His compositions use broad open shapes with convex/concave edges against multi-planed bands, evoking atmospheric spatial shifts. Whether observing the curvature of freeway interchanges or bright noon daylight, Johnson’s work is a clear balance of the harmonic and dissonant qualities in our environment.

Johnson was born in Ohio in 1975, and holds a BFA from Ohio State University and an MFA from Claremont Graduate University. His work has been exhibited extensively in the United States, including his 2012 and 2015 exhibitions at De Buck Gallery, Velocity and Chromatic Momentum. His work is included in many public and private collections, including the Pizzutti Collection (Columbus, OH) and the Andaz Hotel (West Hollywood, CA).