Recent + Current Exhibitions

Chitinous Cruciform, 2019
Jess Johnson + Cynthia Johnson
exhibited at Darren Knight Gallery, Sydney, Australia

Sans: Fragments & Cohesion
group exhibition (w/ Cynthia Johnson)
Mary Cherry Contemporary Art
Melbourne, AUS
30 April - 5 June 2021

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Figure 9
group exhibition
Western Exhibitions
Chicago, USA
16 April - 29 May 2021

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Pain Canopy Yeast Steak
solo exhibition
Ivan Anthony Gallery
Auckland, NZ
13 February - 9 March 2021

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Quilts
solo w/ Cynthia Johnson
Darren Knight Gallery
Sydney, AUS
30 January - 27 February 2021

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TERMINUS
solo w/ Simon Ward
Dowse Art Museum
Wellington, NZ
14 November 2020 - 21 March 2021

New Interviews, Articles, Etc.

Recent articles, interviews, and other projects…

Monash University: Art You Can Wear. I designed a T-shirt for Monash University’s Art You Can Wear series. The screen-printed T is based on a triptych of drawings I did for the Walters Prize 2018 exhibition at Auckland Art Gallery Toi O Tamaki.

Fleshold Crossing on Pioneer Works’ Broadcast. Simon Ward created a 360-video version of our collaborative Virtual Reality work Fleshold Crossing, which was recently featured in Pioneer Works’ new online journal, Broadcast.

7 Artists on Creating New Work During Quarantine. Writer Claire Voon talked to me and six other artists about how we’re approaching our work during Covid-19.

Terminus Notes. Tauranga Art Gallery staff member Kalou Koefoed shares her experience of Terminus (my touring Virtual Reality-centred exhibition made with Simon Ward) when it was at TAG in 2019.

Taking Control: Art Under New York's Lockdown. A brief interview with John Bailey at The Age.

Daily Drawings: Week One. My drawing Milxyz Pips was featured as part of ArtForum’s Daily Drawings series.

 

Australian Bushfire Charity Print Raises $28,000+!

Thanks so much to all of you who purchased a Delenda Est charity print in support of wildlife affected by the Australian bushfires. As a result of your collective generosity we raised AU$28,362 (US$18,762).

Yesterday, I donated this amount to Warriors 4 Wildlife. They are a 100% volunteer-run charity who have been working massively hard of late; organising donations, supplies and transportation wherever it is needed, as well as supporting many of the smaller animal shelters and individuals providing direct, front-line assistance to affected animals.

Raising this amount was an inspiring worldwide effort, as I sent prints off to Australia, New Zealand, the US, Japan, Canada, Ireland, the UK, China, Hong Kong, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Thailand, Indonesia, Spain, Israel, Singapore, Brazil, Belgium, Luxembourg, and Denmark.

TERMINUS @ SXSW 2020

Simon Ward and I have been invited to present our five-part Virtual Reality work, TERMINUS, as part of the Art Program at SXSW festival, 13-20 March 2020.

We’re excited to be going to in Austin, Texas for the first time, and to present our work at such a diverse and cool festival.

Fundraiser Collaboration with Printed Matter

I was chuffed to work with New York nonprofit art book store Printed Matter on a new fundraising edition. This was my first foray into risograph printing (with hopefully more to come!). You can support Printed Matter by purchasing the print on their webstore.

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WOR (2020), 4-color risograph print, 11 x 15.5 inches, edition of 100

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WOR is a deep dive into a multi-layered hypnotic world complete with cultural symbology, humanoid clones, messianic figures, and tumbling alien runes. The image reveals the hypercolored and complex inner workings of a fictional world that is seemingly self- regenerating. This new four color risograph print by Jess Johnson is produced for the occasion of Printed Matter’s presentation at Art Contemporary Los Angeles 2020.

Terminus @ Tauranga Art Gallery

I’m excited to be exhibiting TERMINUS, my VR installation work made in collaboration with Simon Ward, in my hometown of Tauranga, New Zealand at the Tauranga Art Gallery. TERMINUS was originally commissioned by the National Gallery of Australia and the Balnaves Foundation, and premiered at the NGA in Canberra, Australia in 2018. This is the first presentation of TERMINUS in New Zealand.

More info here.

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McCahon House Gate Dinner

In March 2019 I collaborated with Christchurch Chef Alex Davies on a themed post-apocalyptic dinner party. It was hosted at the McCahon House as part of their Gate dinner series, which teams up resident artists with New Zealand chefs. This video of the event was produced by Frances Carter and Viv Teo, with music by Andrew Clarke.