Richard Johansson | 51st State
We are pleased to present Richard Johansson's seventh solo exhibition at the gallery; 51st State. Richard Johansson works in a variety of techniques, and thanks to his great craftsmanship skills he can sensitively choose material and technique depending on what he wants to convey. The exhibition presents painted wooden sculptures, installation and a series of paintings.
Richard Johansson lives with his family outside Kivik in Österlen, Sweden. An environment that easily brings to mind a template image of a picturesque artist life. But in the mornings, he puts on workmen's clothes and identifies himself with the local craftsmen. He draws his inspiration from stories of alienation, class struggle and social justice, rather than the seductive countryside on their doorstep. 51st State depicts a dream of America and a contemporary Swedish mirror world, but above all stories on a personal but universal level.
In the central sculpture Cheerleading for Leonard Peltier, we meet a young, proud woman with cheerleading outfit and pom poms. But the title names a leader of the American Indian Movement who was jailed on vague grounds after an incident where two FBI agents were killed. On closer examination, we can see that the woman seems trapped in an enforced role - to live the American dream. Her dance is perhaps rather linked to Native American traditions and rites? This picture is double, and the opposites chafe.
In a series of 26 paintings on panel, we get to follow a fictitious American road movie. It is, at the same time, a journey into Richard Johansson's head and the references are numerous and diverse. The suite can also be seen as a homage to the Australian artist Sidney Nolan who has been an artistic role model. It is a dry, formal painting with bizarre details and warped logic. There is no clear destination and the journey appears as an enigmatic, poetic riddle going in circles.
The sculpture carrying the name of the exhibition (51st State) is a scenery of a deserted city. Along the straight main street there are shops, cinemas and restaurants - the archetype of a functioning society where the electric lines form the bloodstream. It is a three-dimensional painting where buildings, roofs and asphalt interact in a musical, abstract, functional whole. The emptiness and silence may be perceived haunting and post-apocalyptic, but the sculpture can also be seen as a playground for dreams.
High up on a wall hangs a conspicuous sign with text in relief: "Ass Has No Class".
Richard Johansson is born 1966 in Vrigstad, Småland, Sweden. Education at Forum (Malmö Art Academy), Sweden 1989-94. He lives and works in Södra Mellby, Kivik. Sweden. Selected Solo Exhibitions: Galleri Magnus Karlsson, Stockholm, Sweden (2015, 2011, 2009, 2003, 1998), Galleri Thomas Wallner, Simris, Sweden (2013), Galleri PS, Gothenburg, Sweden (2012, 2002, 1999), Haninge Konsthall, Stockholm, Sweden (2011), Together with Mette Björnberg, Kristianstad konsthall, Västerås Konstmuseum, Växjö konstall, Sweden (2009-2010), Galerie Hartwich, Rügen, Germany (2004), Galleri Rostrum, Malmö, Sweden (2000), Krognoshuset, Lund, Sweden (1996). Selected group exhibitions: Zentrum für Zeitgenössiche Kunst, Dresden, Germany (2013), Stadtgalerie Kiel, Germany (2013), Borås konstmuseum, Sweden (2013), Varberg konsthall, Sweden (2012), Virserums konsthall, Sweden (2012), Växjö konsthall, Sweden (2012), Mjellby konstmuseum, Sweden (2011), Frieze Art Fair, London, UK (2007, 2005), Konstcentrum Gävle, Sweden (1998).
