Monte Clark

August 10 to September 7, 2017

Monte Clark Gallery is pleased to present an exhibition of new works by Collin Johanson.

Consciously avoiding any preconceived notions of outcome, Johanson has developed his own method of painting akin to automatism where images are not predetermined but grow out of suggestions taken from loose marks made during the initial stages of work. This process results in images that could not have been conceived of or planned for, and favours flexibility in both technique and material.

The paintings lack specificity, folding into abstract spaces evocative of dream states or imaginary contexts. Suggestions of imagery that withhold any clear narrative sit in a fractured, intangible status where forms are simultaneously emerging and dissolving. This constant state of flux is what Johanson succeeds in translating, challenging expectations of resolution.

The title, A Cool Expanse of Sheets, calls to mind a sensation through limited description, mimicking how the paintings function—to evoke, allude and suggest through associative connections.

Collin Johanson received his MFA from Concordia University in 2013 and currently lives and works in Montreal. Johanson won the Joseph Plaskett Foundation Award in 2014, and was an RBC Painting Competition finalist in 2008. His work been exhibited in numerous venues including Regart (Quebec), the Museum of Contemporary Canadian Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Contemporary Art Gallery, Access Gallery, and the Surrey Art Gallery.