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Iskra in Under the Influence, Opening December 5 at SAM Gallery

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Plum Wine Iskra SAM Show
“Plum Wine,” limited edition print on panel, 24 x 36 © Iskra Johnson
You are invited to the opening of

Under the Influence

at SAM Gallery
December 5, 6 – 7:30 PM
Seattle Art Museum, 1300 1st Ave, Seattle, WA 98101

Artists influenced by Asia are featured in SAM Gallery’s final show of the year. I am excited to be part of this group of artists including Deborah Bell, Alfred Harris, Laura Van Horne and Junko Yamamoto. Each of us is influenced by Asia in very different ways, involving surface, paper, collage, markmaking and photographic innovations. Join in this festive opening and celebrate the Asian influence on Northwest Contemporary art.

My work in this exhibit will show a new way of presenting my work on panel. The limited edition prints are meticulously mounted and sealed in layers of cold wax medium, which creates a subtle hand crafted sheen. Without traditional framing the work becomes an immediate experience of surface and color, unimpeded by reflections. The surfaces are hard to photograph, but here is a capture in the studio showing “As Above So Below,” one of the works that will be shown. If you would like to preview and reserve before the opening I will have these pieces in the studio through next Tuesday before they are delivered to the gallery. Give me a shout and I would be happy to show you in person. There will be an edition of 5 available for each piece, framed traditionally in plexiglass and brushed silver, or mounted in cold wax on panel. All sales through SAM Gallery.

Archival print mounted on panel by Iskra
Print mounted on panel with cold wax
“The Heron,” archival pigment print mounted on panel © Iskra Johnson

 I look forward to seeing you to celebrate the launch of the winter holidays!

Invitation to Museo Gallery’s “Playlist” Show

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Listening to Bill Frisell print by Iskra
“The Break, 1/5” © Iskra Johnson 26 x 34 archival pigment print on German Etching.

Museo Gallery on Whidbey Island opens its first exhibit for the new year, “Museo’s Playlist” on Saturday night, February 2 from 5-7. The show continues through February 24th and will include a wide range of interpretations from the gallery artists. The invitation to submit work on the theme of music sent me back a few years to a moment that I have never forgotten, the debut of Bill Frisell’s “Big Sur”at Earshot Jazz. I came home from that performance transformed, and did a series of work called “Listening with an Innocent Ear,” in response. The series of work started with one charcoal drawing in black and white, deconstructed and transformed into color, much as music transforms one’s mood. “The Break” is about the moment when a jazz riff goes into uncharted territory.

When I revisited the work to refine, print and frame for the show I realized I wanted to go back to this theme, and have begun a new exploration of both the original compositions and some completely new ideas based on calligraphic ink drawing. I am super excited about the new directions, and urge you to visit me at Instagram to see the process evolve. Here is a variation on the original, and a glimpse of what’s ahead.

Intersection Music Print by Iskra
“Intersection, 1/5” © Iskra Johnson, archival pigment print on German Etching.
Iskra Ink Painting to Music
Improvisation Number 7, Ink on Paper

See process videos at #ink stories. My hand-held video skills may improve with a dive into some apps and hardware, coming soon. Meanwhile the main apps are my ears and my hands.

Terrain and Digital Maneuvers: Two Shows Opening in October

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My work will be in two new group shows opening this week. I am very curious to see how my fellow artists interpret Terrain: Exploring a Common Ground, at Museo Gallery on Whidbey Island. “Terrain” is one of those lovely words you just want to savor with a good beaujolais and fresh bread ripped, not sliced. Clay, dirt, wind, grass, and everything that lies above and below. My pieces in this show explore two different landscapes, the canyon light of city streets and the messy edge where city and country collide. Museo Gallery is in Langley, Whidbey Island, 215 First Street, 98260. The opening is Saturday October 6th from 5-7 and the show continues through October 28th. Hours: 11-5 Wednesday – Monday, Sunday 12-5.

Relic Iskra Print
“Relic,” archival pigment print, 15 x 15 inches

Digital Maneuvers at SAM Gallery presents Kate Sweeney, Troy Gua, Stephen Rock and me, in a show exploring the paths from analog to digital and back again, each of us testing the boundaries of media in different ways. This is the first time I have shown Flatbed, inspired by one of my helpless crushes on a large Industrial Object.

Flatbed print by Iskra
“Flatbed,” archival pigment print, 22×30 inches

I hope to see you at the opening this First Thursday, October 4, 6-7:30 SAM Gallery, 1300 1st Ave, 98101.

Upcoming, some surprises. I hosted the Port of Seattle for a video interview in my studio this week – Yikes!  It’s a long trail from the inner space of making art to talking to the public in front of a camera. (Note to self: Writing is not the same as talking. Maybe I should get out more and practice?) Speaking of which, if you have not yet made it to Taste Restaurant to see ColorBath, give me a shout, and I will be happy to meet you there and explain it all over a glass of wine.

ColorBath Opening Reception at Taste August 9th

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El Lobo Grande tugboat print by Iskra
El Lobo Grande, limited edition archival pigment print, 48 x 24 inches © Iskra Johnson

Iskra Johnson in ColorBath

Reception Thursday August 9th, 6-7:30

at Taste Restaurant at Seattle Art Museum

1300 First Avenue, Seattle, WA 98101

This solo show is an immersion into color and light and the alchemy of reflection and refraction in the Pacific Northwest harbor. Preview the work at SAM Gallery.

Show continues through November 5th. Open Weds-Sun 11-5, Thurs 11-9.

Colorbath! A Glimpse of New Work

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The Blue Sky Print by Iskra
The Salish © Iskra Johnson, Archival Pigment Print

I have been thinking a lot lately about near and far. In memory and in walking, as in contemporary painting, they are often the same place.

My newest series, “Color Bath,” investigates the ambiguity of sky and shore. I’m asking myself what happens when you let go of preconceptions, lift anchor, and go into the space between. It can be uneasy. The docks are rarely steady. In the shifting horizontals of wave-line and tether even the tide markers may lie.

Water Study3 by Iskra
Numbers lost in water make their own rhyme. Work in progress.

These new pieces are large, up to 30 x 40″. They blend watercolor and photography and are becoming more and more painterly as they evolve. Sometimes they come with stories, which you can find along with work in progress on my Instagram. The show opens at Taste, at Seattle Art Museum in August, more details soon.

Thank you so much to everyone who came to Vashon Island for the VIVA Artist Studio Tour! It was a great success. I had wonderful conversations with new friends and old, and was happy to find homes for many of my favorite pieces. A special thanks to Cathy Sarkowsky for hosting, and to the inspired community of Vashon Island for keeping the magic alive.

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