Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Johnson.
Hi Daniel, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I come from an artistic and musical family, which really helped in my current avatar as a nomad writer, musician, and visual artist. As a family, we took long road trips across the United States and to Europe; I went to Paris at the age of 16 to study piano and returned for a year at college there. Continuing on to graduate school in French literature, I spent more time in Paris over the years. Travel and learning foreign languages brings one into contact with the world in all its rich diversity. I believe that firsthand experience and trying things out yourself is more beneficial in self-discovery. During and after graduate school, I went to studio art classes, picking up different techniques and renewing my talents. My continued travels to Turkey, Egypt, Spain, India, and Morocco inspired my geometric art based on the abstract designs of these cultures. These geometric designs that go back centuries, are essentially non-figurative, integrating mathematics and the natural world, interior and exterior spaces with essential abstract forms. For the educated eye, they signal an unseen, transcendent reality – a mystical geometry. Using 21st-century digital technology, I have reframed, deconstructed, and transformed these designs to express current states of cultural and political imbalance, tensions, and crisis, as well as offering an escape into a beautiful visual space for solace and contemplation.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Setting goals for yourself and expanding your horizons takes you to places that you never could imagine. This is the challenge and the rewards. Staying focused on your goals is essential. However, flexibility is also a strength. I’ve always believed in that there is a silver lining behind the storm clouds. I have been fortunate in many ways, but have not always had the support that I needed. These are the times that make you stronger, and I believe that when a door closes, it is the opportunity for another door, perhaps even more interesting, to open.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
My work has evolved over the last decades in part because I have never been satisfied. This is the plague of all artists that we must accept. It is a virtue that keeps us seeking for new and better ways to discover our own selves through art making and the process. I started out as a classically trained artist, painting, drawing sculpting, but when the digital revolution happened, I was ready to embrace it. Other art forms have enriched my art. I was a serious student of classical piano from the age of five onward and also studied classical ballet and modern dance, which have been essential in my expression as a visual artist.
Networking and finding a mentor can have such a positive impact on one’s life and career. Any advice?
Finding good teachers and mentors is both a challenge and a necessity. I have depended on private teachers and formal education, but, in the end, connections with people in your field of activity who can lend you their experience and expertise are the only way to proceed in this interconnected world we live in. The myth of the isolated artist is just that, a myth. I have never been satisfied and strive to go beyond what I think I know with my intuition as my guide.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.danieljohnsonatelier.com
- Instagram: @danieljohnson_artstudio.
- Facebook: Daniel Johnson_artstudio
Image Credits
Ramuel Galarza
