Johnson’s works celebrate the history of ceramic objects and their ability to convey status. He often juxtaposes common vessel forms like plastic containers and soap bottles with gold or silver handles taken from fine silver coffee and teapots.
His first trip to China was a life-changing event for him. He was seduced not only by the quality and history of China’s porcelain, but also its scale and ubiquity. The works that he is creating for this exhibition makes liberal use of gold, as does much of his works, but it will also explore ideas about “luck” through both Eastern and Western symbolism.