Chris Johanson

American, b. 1968, San Jose, California, based in Los Angeles, California

Chris Johanson’s wildly colorful artistic productions are musings on phenomena in contemporary life, including the psychological perils of consumerism, cult spirituality, and self-help. Johanson’s career stems from his early activities in the Northern California punk scene, in which he produced ephemera, posters, and zines. Johanson’s oeuvre now includes paintings, drawings, installation, and sculpture. His early style was characterized by its raw humor, cartoon-like aesthetic, and incorporation of reclaimed materials, like wood and paper from dumpsters and construction sites. In later works, Johanson has used more simplified forms, abstract forms and conceptual themes. Johanson was interviewed in Portland, Oregon on May 10, 2005.