Melanie Johnson: Disquiet

Please join us at Kiosk Gallery on 3rd Friday in November as we present Disquiet, a solo exhibition of drawings by Melanie Johnson. These large scale figurative drawings combine real and unreal e­lements in the creation of subtly evocative and strangely emotive scenes. Artist statement:

“Lu cuntu nun metti tempu” is a Sicilian literary phrase that translates to “time takes no time in a story.” It allows for temporal incongruities to exist in close proximity on the page, collapsing and expanding time and memory at will while condensing the i­ntensity of an event’s impact or making salient those rhymed moments in time. This concept figures strongly in my approach to narrative structure in my drawings. Long-term patterns are examined with remove and are re-contextualized to transform the familiar into a more elemental or resonant presentation of the ordinary. My life-long history living with animals – specifically, the sensory and emotional connections inherent in those bonds, and the ways in which animals link us to memory, place and routine – has caused me to return to many of the same physical and psychological landscapes experienced in the cycle of the life of an animal, making me increasingly aware of ­existential parallels and patterns in my own behavior. Mining these landscapes gives form to a dissonant accrual of lived experience, ­family histories, personal iconography, loss and sense of place. The imagery is specific, but is often also disjointed and incongruous. Surface palimpsest and indexical mark are ­active metaphors in my work. I want the drawings to serve as narrative vehicles as well as exist as physical objects that reference the history of their own manifestation. The work should conjure a habitat that has one foot in the palpable present and the other in a state that evokes the slipperiness of memory, longing or disquieting familiarity.

Bio: Melanie Johnson received an MFA in Painting from Indiana University. She is Associate Professor of Art & Design at the University of Central Missouri. She lives in Kansas City.

Opening Reception: Friday, November 16th, 6-9 pm

Show runs through: January 10th

Open hours: 12-6 pm Fridays, 12-4 pm Saturdays, and by appointment.

Holiday closures: Friday, Nov. 23rd & Saturday, Nov. 24th for Thanksgiving. Friday, Dec. 21st & Saturday, Dec. 22nd for Christmas. Friday, Dec. 28th & Saturday, Dec. 29th for New Year’s weekend.