The Plains by Barbara L. Johnson
The Plains
Barbara L. Johnson
Title
The Plains
Artist
Barbara L. Johnson
1927 - 2021 (biography)Year
c. 1980
Technique
color woodcut with hand-applied pastel details
Image Size
11 3/16 x 17 7/8" image size
Signature
pencil, lower right
Edition Size
7/9 (variant edition)
Annotations
pencil titled and editioned; accompanying label gives the mediums used
Reference
Paper
heavy cream wove
State
published
Publisher
artist
Inventory ID
24686
Price
$400.00
Description
In the black field in the lower right Barbara Johnson has used a pale blue oil pastel to render handwriting-like texture to her color woodcut. Johnson's exploration of Abstract Expressionism began early in her art career, pursuing her art degree as the genre began to dominate the American art world. Further studies on her own while living in Japan cemented her style, as she embraced a muted color palette that borrowed from the natural world and was inspired by the modernism emerging in the Japanese art world.
To print "The Plains" she composes a nearly topographical composition, like the quilted agricultural landscapes of the midwest, perhaps borrowing from her early education in geography at Smith College.