2007 “Solo Exhibition” Aug 2nd M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, Ok. 2007 “Solo Exhibition” Sep. 8th Brunner Gallery, Covington, La.
Past Solo and Group Exhibitions
2006 “Solo Exhibition” Howell Gallery, Oklahoma City, Ok. 2006 “Group Show” Brunner Gallery, Covington, La. 2006 “Group Show” M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, Ok. 2005 “Solo Exhibition” Taylor’s Contemporania, Hot Springs, Ar. 2005 “Group Show”, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, Ok. 2005 “Group Show” Brunner Gallery, Covington, La. 2004 “Solo Show”, Hallar Gallery, Kansas City, Mo. 2004 “Group Show”, Arte Gallery, Palm Desert, Calif. 2004 “Solo Show”, Howell Gallery, Oklahoma City, Ok. 2004 “Group Show”, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, Ok. 2003 “Group Show”, Howell Gallery, Oklahoma City, Ok. 2003 “Solo Show”, Brunner Gallery, Covington, La. 2003 “Solo Show”, M.A. Doran Gallery, Tulsa, Ok. 2002 “Solo Show”, Elizabeth Edwards Fine Art, Laguna Beach, Ca. 2002 “Solo Show”, Red Wing Fine Art, Cape Cod, Ma. 2002 “Group Show”, Howell Gallery, Oklahoma City, Ok. 2002 “Group Show”, M.A.Doran Gallery, Tulsa , Ok. 2002 “St. Anthony Foundation”, Saints Ball 2002 2002 “Wish You Were Here” Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 “Small Packages IV,” Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL 2001 “Dennis Johnson and Allen Wynn,” Jayne Gallery, Kansas City, MO 2001 “Select Paintings by Dennis Johnson,” Telfair Gallery, Austin, TX 2000 “Group Holiday Show,” Wood Street Gallery, Chicago, IL 2000 “An Oklahoma Abstract Artist” - solo show at the Oklahoma State Capital, Oklahoma City, Ok. 2000 “Group Exhibition” - Brunner Gallery, New Orleans, LA 2000 “The Paintings of Dennis Johnson,” solo show at the Alexander Hogue Gallery, University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Ok. 2000 “Dennis Johnson Abstractions” presented by Taylor’s Contemporania Fine Arts, Hot Springs, Ar. 2000 “Recent Works by Dennis Johnson” - solo show, Casa D’ Arte Gallery Shreveport, La. 2000 “Solo Show at Sierra Mar” Post Ranch Inn, Big Sur, CA 2000 “Dennis Johnson & David Suffridge,” The Howell Gallery – Oklahoma City, Ok. 2000 “City Arts Invitational,” Group Show, City Arts Center- Oklahoma City, Ok. 1999 “Perceptions…a Century’s end in Abstractions,” One Man Show, The City Arts Center - Oklahoma City, OK 1999 “New Paintings by Dennis Johnson and David Fielding,” Two Man Show, M.A. Doran Gallery - Tulsa, OK 1999 “ArtScuro ‘99,” Group Show, The Center - Tulsa, OK 1999 “City Arts Invitational,” Group Show, City Arts Center - Oklahoma City, OK 1998 “13th Annual Small Works Show,” M.A. Doran Gallery - Tulsa, OK 1998 The New York Art Expo, sponsored by the Santa Barbara Art Company - Santa Barbara, CA 1997 “Expressions ‘97,” an exhibition benefitting the High School of Economics and Finance, Rocky H. Aoki Foundation House, New York, NY. 1996 “Selected Works by Dennis Johnson,” exhibiting at The Las Colinas Hotel Omni-Mandalay in cooperation with the Craighead-Green Gallery - Dallas, TX 1996 “Primarily Paper,” The Craighead-Green Gallery - Dallas, TX 1996-98 “Holiday Show,” The M.A. Doran Gallery - Tulsa, OK 1996 “Selected Works,” The Kodner Gallery - St. Louis, MO 1996 “An Evening of Art,” benefiting the Oklahoma City Mental-Health Association, The Howell Gallery - Oklahoma City, OK 1994 The Spectrum Gallery, “Abstract-Expressionists On View,” Palm Desert, CA 1993-98 “Absolut* City Arts” Group Show with guest curator Jon Burris, City Arts Center - Oklahoma City, OK 1990 “Two Thousand & Something - Contemporary Painting,” The Riviera Hotel - Las Vegas, Nevada 1988 Ariel Gallery; “Group Abstractions,” New York, NY 1987 Ruth Wiseman Gallery - Dallas, TX 1986 Oklahoma Art Center, Two Person Show - Oklahoma City, OK 1986 50 Penn Place, “Tribute to Oklahoma Artists,” Oklahoma City, OK 1990 “Retrospective Work,” Kirkpatrick Museum, Oklahoma City, OK 1985 “Southwestern Oklahoma State University Alumni Exhibition,” Southwestern University, Weatherford, OK 1977 Cedarwood Gallery, Midwest City, OK 1972 Southwestern Bell Company, Oklahoma City, OK
Selected Publications
2006 Southwest Art Magazine, Sep. Issue 2006 Nichols Hills News Magazine, Sep. Issue 2004 O.E.T.A. Public Television, Documentary, Dennis Johnson, “Abstract” 2004 Art News, Magazine, February, 2004, M.A. Doran Gallery 2004 Art News, Magazine, January, 2004, Hallar Gallery 2003 Art News, Magazine, October, 2003, Red Wing Fine Art 2003 Art News, Magazine, September, 2003, Brunner Gallery, 2003 Art News, Magazine, February,2003, Lucas Gallery 2002 Nichols Hills News, Magazine,” The Art Of Dennis Johnson”, Sep.2002 2002 Norman Living, Magazine, “A Different Perspective”, Sep. 2002 2002 Historic Living, Magazine, “Saints Kaleidoscope Ball”,2002 2002 Edmond Monthly, Magazine, September , 2002 2002 Quail Creek News, Magazine, “Abstract Art” 2001 Art News, Magazine, May,2002, Elizabeth Edwards Gallery. 2000 Heidi Centrella, “Dennis Johnson - Away From the Pack,” Oklahoma Gazette, October 18, 2000. 2000 Sheba Thayil, “An Artist To Watch in the Next Century,” Bangalore Indian Express News, January 1, 2000: 20C. 1999 Telluride Magazine, Holiday Issue: 65. 1999 Laura Hart, “A Classic Restatement: The Maguire Home,” Nichols Hills Magazine, June 1999: 59. 1999 Louisa McCune, “The Abstractionist: Dennis Johnson on Time,” Oklahoma Today Magazine, November 1999: 22, 23 1997 Michael Ennis, “An Oklahoma Tribute - Renewing The Historic Governor’s Mansion in Oklahoma City,” Architectural Digest, April 1997: 155. 1999 Marcia Shottenkirk, “Time is Right for Artists’ Exhibit,” The Daily Oklahoman, December 1999: 2-B
National Juried Shows
1985 Emerald City Classic, National Juried Show - Fourth Place Award for Painting 1984 El Paso Museum of Art, 23rd National Sun Carnival Art Exhibition, Honorable Mention for Painting 1974 Barnwell Art Center, Spar National Exhibition - Purchase Award for Painting 1973 Oklahoma Art Guild, 3rd Annual National Juried Show - First Place Award for Painting
Films
1993 Original art work for “The Cherokee Strip, “ a documentary by Shawnee Brittan productions. 1996 Original art work for “Sleep My Sons, The Story of the Arisan Maru,” a documentary by Westar Film productions.
Current Gallery And Dealer Listings
A Fine Gallery- Palm Desert, Calif. Wood Street Gallery - Chicago, Illinois Telfair Gallery – Houston, Texas Brunner Gallery - New Orleans, Louisiana M.A. Doran Gallery - Tulsa, Oklahoma Howell Gallery – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Taylor’s Contemporania Fine Arts - Hot Springs, Arkansas
Museum Collections
Barnwell Art Center - Shreveport, Louisianna Oklahoma City Art Museum - Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Corporate Collections
Meade Energy, Oklahoma City, OK Axxon Corporation, New Orleans, La. Process Sciences, Inc. Austin, TX The Roanoke Companies, Kansas City, MO John Wayne Airport, Orange County, CA Champlin Oil, Enid, OK Marie Park Consultants, Dallas, TX The Oklahoma City Chamber of Commerce, Oklahoma City, OK Emerge, Inc. Los Angeles, CA St. Anthony Hospital, Oklahoma City, OK Las Colinas Omni Mandalay Hotel, Dallas, TX Larry Spencer Inc., Norman, OK American Bank & Trust, Edmond, OK Self, Giddons, & Lees law firm, Oklahoma City, OK Tyson Foods Inc., Little Rock, AR Oklahoma Gas & Electric Company, Oklahoma City, OK Brandon Construction, Kansas City, MO Visual Applications, Inc., Kansas City, MO Stillwater National Bank, Tulsa, OK Cadieux Companies, Tulsa, OK Loves, Inc., Oklahoma City, OK
Private Collections
Mr. David Cone, New York (NY Yankee’s pitcher) Mr. Christian K. Keesee, New York (Banker and art collector) The Governor’s Mansion, the State of Oklahoma Sultan Ahmed el Shakir, Saudia Arabia Mr. Adrian Carmack, Dallas (Inventor of computer game “Dune”) Mr. & Mrs. Larry Shelton, Salt Lake City, Utah Mr. & Mrs. John Deitrich, Salt Lake City, Utah Mr. Waqas Wajahat, New York City (Art dealer for Knoedler & Co.) Mr. Bill Saunders, Aspen, Colorado Mrs. Hilde Kahn, Potomac, Maryland Mr. & Mrs. Monty Hoeflein, Dallas Texas Dr. Scott & Katie Robertson, Lucern, Switzerland Mr. James Phillips, Houston, Texas Mr. David Balthazore, Houston, Texas Mr. & Mrs. Ken Goldberg, Dallas Texas Mr. Tom Thomas, Dallas, Texas Mr. & Mrs. Bill Mathis, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. Joseph Hamilton, Dallas, Texas Mrs. A.C. Dunlap, Telluride, Colorado Mr. & Mrs. Katt Johnson, Dallas Texas Dr. & Mrs. Morris Curry, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. Shawnee Brittan, Scottsdale, Arizona (Film Producer) Mr. Cal Woolright, Telluride, Mrs. Francis Doel, Los Angeles, California (Film writer and producer) Mr. & Mrs. Edward Kerr, Sante Fe, New Mexico Mrs. Jean Richardson, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (Artist) Mr. & Mrs. Witson Brooks, Edistow, South Carolina Mrs. Lucinda McCall, Long Island, New York Mr. & Mrs. Peter Hoffman, Santa Fe, New Mexico Mr. & Mrs. Edward Cook, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. & Mrs. Jim Merchant, Dallas, Texas Mr. Sam Kimbrough, Dallas, Texas Dr. & Mrs. Lee Holden, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Hupfeld III, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. & Mrs. Shannon Self, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. C. Ray Lees, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. & Mrs. David Rippetoe, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. & Mrs. Kent Baker, St. Louis, Missouri Mr. & Mrs. Anthony Terence, Santa Barabara, California Mr. & Mrs. Jacob Levy, Montecito, California Ms. Laurel Kallenberger, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma Mr. & Mrs. Cantwell, Chicago, Illinois Governor , Edwin Edwards, Louisiana Dr. & Mrs. M.B. Bailey, Jr. (Windlake Farms), Monroe, La. Drs. Jay & Helena Altick, Monroe, La. Dr. Judy Gavaler, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Education
Southwestern Oklahoma State University, 1970-74, B.F.A. East Texas State University, Graduate Studies in Painting and Printmaking, 1974-75
Born
April 4, 1953 Oklahoma City, Oklahoma U.S.A.
Growing up, I always knew that creating art is what I was meant to do with my life. The older I got, my priorities never changed.
During college is when I first began my study of the non-objective abstraction. My concept when working in this style is that I'm painting a visual structure that has never been seen before, out of elements that may be recognizable. I am inventing an image that has never existed. My compositions are based from letters, but the "recognizable elements" that I borrow from are basically mechanical/technical components.
I loved this style from the very beginning; I felt absolute creative freedom. But I also knew that to be truly in command of the canvas, I wanted to be skilled in all styles of painting. Studying realism became a necessity.
Working with Still Life, Landscapes, Fauvism, Impressionism, all of these contributed to my talent for abstract painting. However, I think the most important thing that I learned from working in all styles is the blending and mixing of color. Color makes all the difference in a non-objective abstraction. It opens up depth, dimensions, and emotions...the more color the better! Color also teaches you control. People have this misconception that all abstract painters simply throw paint on a canvas, and some do. But my paintings REALLY ARE something, and it takes control and order to harness all that color and energy into a believable image.
With this series of work, I want my viewers to decide for themselves what they see and what the painting means. I have no wish to dictate a right answer to the question, “What does it mean?” If I can have creative freedom by painting, then my viewers should have creative freedom with interpretation.
My art is my challenge and my joy. I love taking my paintings to the edge! The edge of "what," you can decide. When I paint, I’m striving to push the envelope. And today, I continue endeavoring to reach the limits of what "a controlled, sophisticated, abstraction" can be.