Michael Johnson grew up surrounded by art, both his parents were painters. Johnson left school at 14 yrs old and rambled around rural NSW on painting trips with close friend Brett Whiteley, he studied at the Julian Art School and The National Art Museum. picture 98cm x 69cm frame 109.5cm x79.5cm
Michael Johnson (born 1938) Wimmera I, 1986 titled, signed and dated to stretcher bar: 'WIMMERA I Michael Johnson 1986' oil on linen 243.0 x 213.0cm (95 11/16 x 83 7/8in).
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938 Trio 1990 synthetic polymer paint on canvas signed, dated and inscribed 'Michael Johnson 1990 "TRIO" / Michael Johnson 1990 (TRIO)' verso 213.5 x 152 cm PROVENANCE Michael Johnson, Sydney Private Collection, Melbourne
MICHAEL JOHNSON (born 1938) Dual Dream 1985-86 oil on linen signed, titled and dated verso: "DUAL DREAM" Michael Johnson 1985-86 212.5 x 151.5cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Melbourne Thence by descent
MICHAEL JOHNSON (1938 - ) Untitled, 1984 watercolour and crayon on paper 31.5 x 23.5 cm (frame: 51 x 43 x 3 cm) signed and dated lower right | Provenance: Gift from The Artist
Michael Johnson (born 1938) Impending, 1998 signed, dated and inscribed verso: 'TITLE: 'IMPENDING' Michael Johnson 1998 oil on linen 121.5 x 91.0cm (47 13/16 x 35 13/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938 Earth Line 1997-98 oil on linen 122.0 x 367.0 cm signed, dated and inscribed verso: Michael Johnson title ''EARTH LINE'' OIL 1997-98
Michael Johnson (born 1938) Hawkesbury Pastel V, 2004 signed and dated lower right: 'Michael Johnson 04' pastel on paper 40.0 x 31.0cm (15 3/4 x 12 3/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Michael Johnson (born 1938) Homage to Mu-Chi, Kuan-Yin XIII, 1995 initialled and dated lower left: 'M 95' vinyl on paper 75.0 x 56.0cm (29 1/2 x 22 1/16in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
Michael Johnson (born 1938) Lucio's, 1998 glazed ceramic plate diameter: 28.5cm (11 1/4in). For further information on this lot please visit the Bonhams website
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938 TERRA ROSSA, 1999 oil on linen SIGNED: signed and dated verso: Michael Johnson 1999 inscribed with title on stretcher bar verso: “TERRA ROSSA” for Lucio x Sally DIMENSIONS: 183.0 x 365.0 cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney, acquired directly from the artist ESSAY: The remarkable paintings of Michael Johnson have dominated Australian abstract art for over thirty years, each exhibition representing a tour de force in paint. The riotous beauty and sheer physicality of his painting, which simply pronounced ‘beat me if you can’, threw down the gauntlet to fellow abstract artists. Throughout the 1970s, Michael Johnson worked with acrylic paints popularised by a generation of American colour field painters. His paintings from this period were disciplined arrangements of shaped canvases which relied heavily on complimentary colour juxtapositions. In 1981 the artist sheepishly began using oil paint. Sheepishly because oil paint is encumbered by centuries of tradition and the notion that ‘new work’ requires new materials is a guiding edict for artists who test the parameters of convention. Johnson explained his initial reluctance to Barry Pearce: ‘I fear oil, even though it is the most natural thing to paint with and I love it. But I fear its trickery. You can get too clever with it ... suddenly I could use opaque over-painting as a transparency, and I could veil my paintings and push things back and forwards’.1 As if compensating for years of working with inert acrylic surfaces, a dense textured quality created entirely from layer upon layer of pure oil paint became the central feature of Johnson’s painting. His forensic understanding of colour, honed over many years, now fitted his fresh appreciation for the physicality of oil paint, as the density of the medium was matched by that of the colour pigments. His exhibitions from the mid-1980s and ‘90s at Macquarie Galleries, and then Sherman Galleries in Sydney, were greeted with great enthusiasm, as each new exhibition trumped the previous for bravado, beauty and power. Few artists have enjoyed the broad critical acclaim that these exhibitions received, and this fuelled Johnson’s already strident presence on the Australian art scene. Terra Rossa, 1999 which until recently graced the walls of Lucio’s restaurant – a celebrated artists’ meeting place in Paddington – was created during this time, one of the artist’s most inspired and productive periods. The bold scale and colour harmonies of the painting summarise his achievements to date and deliver a work that is by any measure a spectacular example. Johnson’s contradictory and opposing colour arrangements spilled from the gallery walls and into the critical zeitgeist of the time. His contemporaries such as the dreamy Wedderburn painters John Peart and Roy Jackson could only look on and gasp at the yards of precious oil paint Johnson caked onto his canvases. John Peart once remarked to me that ‘many artists paint for you, but Michael Johnson paints at you’. Peart’s observation has stayed with me and when standing in the presence of a painting such as Terra Rossa, it is easy to grasp exactly what he meant. 1. Transcript of taped interview with the artist by Barry Pearce, 13 June 1997, Australian artists archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales Library, Sydney HENRY MULHOLLAND
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938 XU (1994) oil on canvas 122 x 91.5 cm PROVENANCE Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne (label verso) Mrs Rae Rothfield, Melbourne, acquired from the above on 13 September 1994
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938, Italian Pink (also known as Spanish Visitor) 1988 oil on linen 244.0 x 214.0 cm signed, dated and inscribed on stretcher verso: "SPANISH VISITOR" JOHNSON 1988 Michael Johnson Christine Abrahams Gallery, Melbourne (label attached verso) Sotheby's, Melbourne, 2 October 1994, lot 249 Company collection, Melbourne Artemis Auctions, Melbourne, 4 August 2009, lot 306 Private collection, Melbourne
MICHAEL JOHNSON (born 1938) Cows at the Waterhole 1963 oil on canvas signed and dated lower left: MJohnson63 102 x 126cm PROVENANCE: Acquired directly from the artist's London studio in 1967 by Mr. Robinson (accompanied by a letter from Michael Johnson) Private collection, Melbourne
"Storm Over the Mississippi No. 2" by Michael Johnson, 1982 Unsigned Offset Lithograph. Paper size is 23 x 19 inches, with an image size of 10 x 14.5 inches. The Offset Lithograph is from an unknown edition size. and is not framed. The condition was rated B-: Good Condition, Signs of Handling and Age. Additional details: Poster for the Michael Johnson exhibition titled Landscapes which was held at the Fay Gold Gallery from August - September 1982. Denting present throughout the print.
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938, Vermilion 1995 oil on canvas 304.0 x 275.0 cm The Star Entertainment Group Limited, Sydney Private collection, Melbourne Pearce, B., Michael Johnson, Beagle Press, Sydney, 2004, p.95 (illus.)
MICHAEL JOHNSON, born 1938, FLORES TWO, 1997, oil on linen SIGNED: signed, dated and inscribed with title on frame verso: “FLORES TWO” 1997 oil Michael Johnson … DIMENSIONS: 183.0 x 152.5 cm PROVENANCE: Sherman Galleries, Sydney Gene and Brian Sherman collection, Sydney EXHIBITED: Michael Johnson, Sherman Galleries, Sydney, 4 – 27 September 1997, cat. 7 On loan to the University of Technology, Sydney, 2010 (label attached verso) LITERATURE: Pearce, B., Michael Johnson, The Beagle Press, Sydney, 2004, cat. 55, pp. 96 (illus.), 200 McDonald, J., 'Dreaming in Colour', Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 13 September 1997 (illus.)
MICHAEL JOHNSON, born 1938, AGAINST THE LIGHT, 2002, oil on canvas SIGNED: signed and dated verso: Michael Johnson 2002 inscribed with title on stretcher bar verso: / TITLE: AGAINST, THE LIGHT DIMENSIONS: 183.0 x 183.0 cm PROVENANCE: Private collection, Sydney Deutscher and Hackett, Melbourne, 29 April 2009, lot 107 Private collection, Sydney ESSAY: I think that painting is more about feeling than what you see ... I dont make thick paint for that reason, mind you ... but I think it is about touch ... All painting is invisible in this sense ... We feel our way through life, we dont see our way through life.1 Throughout the 1970s Michael Johnson worked with acrylic paints popularised by a generation of American painters. The resulting paintings were disciplined arrangements of shaped canvases which relied on complimentary colour juxtapositions to create the work. In 1981 the artist sheepishly began using oil paint. I say sheepishly as oil paint is encumbered by centuries of tradition and the notion that new work needed new materials is a guiding edict for artists who work against the parameters of convention. His late 1980s exhibitions at Macquarie Galleries in Sydney were greeted with great enthusiasm and this fuelled the artists already strident presence on the Australian art scene. Each following exhibition would trump the previous for bravado and creative flare. As hungry art students, we would visit the Macquarie Galleries and view the paintings in awe of the sheer energy of the works and the volume of paint he used. The artist explained his initial reluctance to use oil paint along with some remarks about his subject to Barry Pearce: I fear oil, even though it is the most natural thing to paint with and I love it. But I fear its trickery. You can get too clever with it. I went through this funny period where I recalled my childhood with the Quasar and Cattai paintings, memories of watching floodwaters bringing debris down to the ocean at little Hallow Beach. I dont know what the diagonals were about but, without being figurative I was trying to get a feel of association with experience, not place ... and suddenly I could use opaque over-painting as a transparency, and I could veil my paintings and push things back and forwards.2 As if compensating for years of working with inert acrylic surfaces, a dense textured quality created entirely from pure oil paint quickly became a central feature of Johnsons painting. His forensic understanding of colour honed over many years now fitted his fresh appreciation for the physicality of oil paint, as the density of the paint was matched by that of the pigments. Against the Light, 2002, is a classic example of Johnsons work, the formal symmetry of the composition and the rhythmic colour, combine with his signature application of paint to create a work of both power and presence. Johnsons paintings are closer to the nature of nature itself than they are to any literal aspect of it. They draw upon the ephemeral as much as the literal in nature the pull of the moon or mood of a tide are as legitimate a subject as any. Calligraphic arabesques are overlayed onto the canvas directly from the tube; these forms are raked back into the surface and then redrawn with paint applied in swathes of oil. Metres of pure paint in even lines come together creating a mesh of colour which provides each work with its individual beauty. 1. Transcript of taped interview with the artist by the Barry Pearce, 13 June 1997, Australian artists archive, Art Gallery of New South Wales Library 2. ibid. HENRY MULHOLLAND
MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938, Cattai Revisit 1990 MICHAEL JOHNSON born 1938, Cattai Revisit 1990 oil on canvas 214.0 x 152.0 cm signed and dated verso: Michael Johnson 1990 signed, dated and inscribed verso: CATTAI REVISIT MICHAEL JOHNSON 1990 Private collection, Sydney Deutscher-Menzies, Melbourne, 23 June 2003, lot 75 Private collection, Melbourne Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 13 September 2007, lot 229 Private company collection, Melbourne Lawson-Menzies, Sydney, 10 December 2008, lot 209 Private collection, Melbourne Menzies, Sydney, 21 March 2013, lot 120 Company collection, Melbourne
MICHAEL JOHNSON (born 1938) From Fang 1986 oil on linen signed, dated and titled verso on stretcher bar: Michael Johnson / 1984-86 / From Fang 213 x 151cm PROVENANCE: Macquarie Galleries, Sydney (label verso) Lawson Menzies, Sydney, 30 October 2006, lot 339 Private collection, Melbourne EXHIBITIONS: Macquarie Galleries, Sydney, March - April 1986
