Biography

Emily Johnson (b. 1976) was raised on a small farm in rural north central Missouri. Much of her youth was spent exploring nature, which influenced her perception of the world and sparked the desire to create. Following that passion, she moved to Kansas City to attend the Kansas City Art Institute where she studied fine art and design, receiving her BFA in 1998.

For the next 20 years she worked as a graphic designer and art director before pursuing fine art full time. Her work is shaped both by her fine art training and her graphic design experience. Working intuitively, she creates a sense of memory and place that feels both familiar and unknown. The human desire to connect with nature is a continued source of inspiration, as can be seen in many of her abstract drawings and paintings.    

Statement

My paintings are about our attraction and innate desire to connect (or reconnect) with nature. My inspiration is often born from meditations, dreams and observations in the natural world. Through painting and drawing I explore this connection with nature, oftentimes revealing a landscape (emotional or physical) that may seem familiar to an observer, allowing a visceral reaction that feels like memory.

EDUCATIOn

1998 BFA, Kansas City Art Institute

1996 Centre d’Art La Rectoria, Independent artist workshop, Spain 

Gallery REPRESENTATION

  • Blue Gallery, Kansas City MO

Corporate Collections

  • University Health - The Center for Recovery Wellness, Kansas City MO

  • Emprise Bank, Kansas City MO

  • Nova R Wealth, Overland Park KS