Kelley Johnson “Slow Hum”

Freight and Volume

[Image: Kelley Johnson "Star Kite" (2017) flash, acrylic, panel, PVC, 131 x 77 x 63 inches and Diamond (2017) flash, acrylic, panel, PVC, 72 x 84 x 1 in.]

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Freight + Volume presents “Slow Hum,” New Works by Kelley Johnson. “Slow Hum” reveals new artworks by Miami-based artist Kelley Johnson. Johnson, an interdisciplinary artist whose work spans painting and sculpture, embraces a style simultaneously precise and deceptively minimal. The exhibition features new works from the artist’s Kite paintings series, which combines aspects of Op Art and Color Field Theory, intermingled with concepts from Rosalind Krauss’ theory of Sculpture in the Expanded Field.

These installation artworks extend into physical space. The result is a series of compelling, unique objects arranged to create an immersive experience continually in flux. Visitors witness multiple exhibitions in one area as shapes shift and colors flicker, the effect dependent purely on viewpoint. Taking simple shapes and primary hues as a departure point, Johnson methodically builds these essential elements into a musical triumph: transforming a slow hum into an ecstatic crescendo.

These works invite thoughtful consideration, resonating with the idea of humming as a meditative chant or spiritual salvo. Raised in a religious household, the artist carefully considers aspects of spirituality as it relates to Rothko and Color Field Theory, then applies this perspective to mediate the constant distraction of contemporary culture. Through his careful constructions and powerful combinations of vibrant hues, the artist invites the visitor to “escape into the present” by surrendering to the delicate choreography of space, line, and tone.

In “Slow Hum,” Johnson breathes new life into the interstitial moment existing “between the fluid boundaries of reality and fiction,” elevating swaths of color and industrial construction materials into a grand vision.

Kelley Johnson (b. 1973) was born in Houston, Texas and raised in St. Louis, Missouri. He holds BFA at Parson School of Design and an MFA from Indiana University. Johnson was a recipient of the prestigious painting fellowship with Yale University sponsored by the Ellen Battell Stoeckel Trust. Recent solo exhibitions of the artist’s work have been on view at David Castillo Gallery, Miami Beach, FL; Hollywood Art and Culture Center, Hollywood, FL; and Arts + Leisure gallery in Manhattan. He has taught at the university level and exhibited regularly for over 15 years. Johnson lives and works in Miami, FL.