ERIC ERNEST JOHNSON NEXT DOOR NEIGHBOR
3RD -26TH SEPTEMBER, 2015
The LODGE is happy to present Next Door Neighbor by Eric Ernest Johnson on view from 3rd – 26th September 2015.
Next Door Neighbor is Johnson’s first solo exhibition with The LODGE featuring over 50 pieces filling the gallery salon style from floor to ceiling with paintings, sculptures and mobiles.
Eric Ernest Johnson is fascinated with the experience of life in Southern California describing his work as being “…about all metropolises, yet I think because I was born and raised here in Los Angeles, it has become a focus, my civic muse in many ways.” This ongoing theme looks at how we interact with our space and surroundings as well as the issues that arise from urban life, from our relationship with nature like the recent drought to the endless growing sprawl of concrete, freeways and structures, and what he calls ‘The Colonization of Los Angeles’.
These observations range from up-close to larger bird’s-eye view perspectives of “how we live with one another.” Landscapes incorporate ocean, deserts, mountains, construction and terrain of historic and new Southern California. In contrast to the works depicting a bright and sunny Technicolor, Johnson’s black and white paintings play with the abstractions of shapes and angles found in their colorful counterparts.
Johnson cites landmarks such as the Watts Towers, Bullock’s on Wilshire and the Hollywood and Downtown of his childhood as inspirations and sees the city as a “moving picture.” His understanding of L.A. and dialogue with the city is everywhere, “We have an amazing story here, just walk outdoors, get in your car, take a bus, a train, a bike, and you're in it, and there is no place like it on earth, and it is constantly changing, glass and brick, steel and stone, giant holes in the ground soon become towers to the sky.”