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December Issue 2004
Gallery
2 in Columbia, SC, Features Works by Keith Johnson
Gallery 2 in Columbia,
SC, will present the paintings of Christian artist, Keith Johnson
in the month of December. The exhibition entitled, Sacred Art,
features more than two dozen pieces and will hang from Dec. 4
through Jan. 15, 2005.
Johnson pursued a painting degree in the late 1960s, a time when
the cultural landscape of theUnited States was turning away from
traditional religious views. Johnson laughs when he describes
his undergraduate days. "I majored in dope and minored in
painting," he says. "Prior to graduation I was facing
years in prison for selling drugs. That was when I found the power
of faith and turned my life around." Johnson says that some
fellow academics found his sudden choice of religion and faith
bourgeois topics for painting and suggested he apply to seminary
instead of continuing with his art aspirations.
After graduating in the early 1970s, Johnson moved to Augusta,
GA, with some college friends who made the transition from drugs
to faith along with him. "We're still together," Johnson
says of the charismatic community called FaithVillage. Discouraged
from his art, and needing to make a living, Johnson spent many
years as a woodworker and furniture maker. All the while, he dabbled
with painting.
In his early 30s, Johnson created one of his most powerful pieces
in the show. Forgiven Much is a harrowing rendition of
Mary Magdalene sobbing as she washes Christ's feet. The centerpiece
of Sacred Art is the more recent, multi-panel work entitled
simply, Christ. A crucifixion scene focused on individual
parts of Christ's body, this painting is saturated with rich colors
- gold splashes the background, stried black and red run ominously
down Christ's chest, a pale crown of thorns partially obscure
his face.
Like much of Johnson's work, Christ focuses on hands, muscular
and caring. In many of his paintings, hands reach from outside
the canvas - to touch the Christ child, to break loaves of bread,
to brush the hair of the suffering - a narrative of the healing
power of touch. Johnson feels that Mel Gibson's movie The Passion
of the Christ has renewed an interest in religious art and
iconography. "The major body of figurative art has always
been Christian themed, but at some point we got away from that,"
Johnson says. "Here recently, people are willing to take
a fresh look at a topic they thought they already knew a lot about."
For further info check our SC Commercial Gallery listings,
call the gallery at 803/771-6123 or e-mail at (gallerytwo@aol.com).
Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2004 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.