Chinatown

Ynez Johnston

This rare, early etching by Ynez Johnston was done between 1948 and 1950 while she was in her hometown of Berkeley, California studying printmaking at University of California (where she had studied art at age 15). Johnston's early interest was in Byzantine art and her work reflected that interest through her whole artistic life.

Gerald Norland notes on page 49 of 'Ynez Johnston': "Her work in etching helped her to achieve a synthesis of her different approaches to composition, the flatness of the picture plane, her interest in aerial perspective...where she tilts the picture plane, flattens the building forms, figures and animals with the stockade environment, stacking events as in a Persian miniature."

In this composition Johnston pays homage to the intricate bustle of Chinatown in San Francisco with a flattened, aerial view of the streets, viewed through the frame of a stone wall.

Johnston would often experiment with the plate, printing it both intaglio, such as this impression, and relief. She did not produce large editions, mostly proofs which were given to friends or other students. This impression is from the collection of her friend, curator, author, critic, and art historian Gerald Nordland (1927-2019) and is dedicated to him and his wife Paula. It would appear that this was taken from Johnston's archive to give to them.