Matt Johnson (artist)


Matt Johnson is an artist based in Los Angeles,
Johnson was born in New York City. He is a sculptor who creates humorous works out of everyday materials. His art has been compared to that of Tom Friedman and Charles Ray for its innovative manipulation of objects. His first solo show was in New York City in 2004, less than a year after receiving his Masters of Fine Arts degree from University of California, Los Angeles. He is currently represented by with Blum & Poe and 303 Gallery.

Selected Solo Exhibitions

2017
Wood Sculpture, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
2015
Matt Johnson: Lautner Beams, Pacific Design Center, West Hollywood, CA
2014
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2013
Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2012
303 Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2010
Alison Jacques Gallery, London, UK
2009
Matt Johnson: Super System, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
2006
Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
2005
Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
2004
Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY

Selected Group Exhibitions

2017
alt-facts, , New York, NY
Jump Ball, , Mykonos, Greece
', Museum of Contemporary Art Detroit, Detroit, MI
', Venus Over Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
2016
Phoenix Rising: The Valley Collects, Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ
6’s and 7’s, Outdoor Sculpture at Marlborough Gallery Breezeway, New York, NY
Wanderlust, The Highline, New York, NY
2015
love or the lack of it, curated by Friedrich Kunath, Travesia Cuatro, Madrid, Spain
Small Sculpture, Shane Campbell Gallery, Chicago, IL
2014
Frieze Sculpture Park, London, UK
Broadway Morey Boogie, Broadway Malls, New York, NY, presented by Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
2013
The Perfect Show, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
Eagles, Marlborough Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Funny, FLAG Art Foundation, New York, NY
Lifelike, Walker Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN; traveling to New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego, CA; Blanton Museum of Art, University of Texas at Austin, TX
Blind Cut, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
Object Fictions, James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY
2012
Levitating Woman, 2012, Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, Oslo
303 Gallery, New York, NY
The Perfect Show, 303 Gallery, New York, NY
Eagles, Marlborough Gallery, Madrid, Spain
Lifelike, Walker Museum of Art, Minneapolis, MN; traveling to New Orleans Museum of Art, LA
Blind Cut, Marlborough Chelsea, New York, NY
Object Fictions, James Cohan Gallery, New York, NY
2011
Burning, Bright: A Short History of the Light Bulb, Pace Gallery, New York, NY
Greater LA, 2nd Floor of 483 Broadway, New York, NY
2010
11th Triennale fur Kleinplastik, Fellbach, Germany
2009
Abstract America, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Second Nature: The Valentine-Adelson Collection, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
15th Anniversary Inaugural Exhibition, Blum & Poe, Los Angeles, CA
Born in the Morning, Dead by Night, Leo Koenig, New York, NY
2008
PM Dawn, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Shape of Things to Come: New Sculpture, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
The Form Itself, Priska C. Juschka Fine Art, New York, NY
2007
Making Do, Yale University School of Art Gallery, New Haven CT
All About Laughter: Humor in Contemporary Art, Mori Art Museum, Tokyo
Makers and Modelers, Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY
Objects, Karma International, Zurich, Switzerland
Sculptors’ Drawings: Ideas, Studies, Sketches, Proposals, and More, Angles Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Time Difference, The Frank Cohen Collection, Initial Access Gallery, Wolverhampton, UK
2006
The World is Round, Public Art Fund, MetroTech Center, Brooklyn, NY
Clarissa Dalrymple’s Exhibition of Young Artists to Benefit the Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Bortolami Dayan, New York, NY
2005
Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium, Astrup Fearnley, Oslo, Norway; traveled to Bard College, New York, NY; Serpentine Gallery, London, UK; Reykjavik Art
Museum, Reykjavik, Iceland; Galerie Rudolfinum, Prague, Czech Republic
Art Rock, Rockefeller Plaza, New York, NY
Sutton Lane in Paris, Sutton Lane c/o Galerie Ghislaine Hussenot, Paris, France
Thing, UCLA Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
2004
Magic Show, Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Mystery Achievement, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Slouching Towards Bethlehem, The Project, New York, NY
Drunk vs. Stoned, Gavin Brown’s Passerby, New York, NY
Nature Study: A Selection of Artists’ from New York and Los Angeles, California State University, Bakersfield, CA
2003
Another Sculpture Show, Angstrom Gallery, Dallas, TX
Buy Contortions, Taxter & Spengemann, New York, NY
Threedimetrical, Happy Lion, Los Angeles, CA
California Welcomes You, Scope, Los Angeles, CA Ordinary Uncanny, Scope, New York, NY
Grant Selwyn Fine Art, Beverly Hills, CA
2002
Four Times One Minus One, Hayworth Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Fondazione Ratti, Como, Italy
Nanotechnology, The Whole Gallery, Baltimore, MD
Everything Everywhere, The H. Lewis Gallery, Baltimore, MD

Catalogues

2013
Mikkelsen, Egil, Magne Malmanger, and Margrethe Geelmuyden. Ekebergparken. Oslo: Orfeus, 2013.
2012
Engberg, Siri, ed. Lifelike. Minneapolis: Walker Art Center, 2012, 61, 170-71, 180.
Freeman, Jonah and Vera Neykov. Blind Cut. New York: Marlborough Gallery, 2012, 55.
Jacobson, Heidi Zuckerman, and James Frey. Funny. New York: Flag Art Foundation, 2012.
Spengemann, Pascal. Matt Johnson: Small Sculptures. Los Angeles: Wood Kusaka Studios, 2012.
2011
Cahill, James. Frank Benson, Mark Grotjahn, Matt Johnson. London: Sadie Coles, 2011.
2010
Gülicher, Nina. “Matt Johnson: Materielle Widersprüche.” In Larger Than Life: Stranger Than Fiction. Fellbach. Germany: Stadt Fellbach; Heule, Belgium: Snoeck, 2010, 128-129.
Johnson, Matt. Dice, The Meteorite, and The Electron. Los Angeles: Matt Johnson, 2010.
2009
Colburn, Tyler. “Matt Johnson.” In Vitamin 3-D: New Perspectives in Sculpture and Installation. London: Phaidon, 2009, 164-165.
2007
All About Laughter: Humor in Contemporary Art. Tokyo: Mori Art Museum, 2007.
2006
Steiner, Rochelle. The World is Round. New York: Public Art Fund, 2006.
2005
Birnbaum, Daniel, Gunnar B. Kvaran, and Hans Ulrich Obrist, eds. Uncertain States of America: American Art in the 3rd Millennium. Oslo: Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art, 2005.
Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles. Los Angeles: Armand Hammer Museum of Art, 2005, 42-45.

Articles and Reviews

2017
“Goings on about Town: Matt Johnson.” New Yorker, January 30, 2017, 12.
Schwabsky, Barry. “Matt Johnson: 303 Gallery.” Artforum 55, no. 7 : 265-266.
2015
Carlson, Cajsa. “Art Basel 2015: Highlights.” Cool Hunting, June 24, 2015.
2012
Losk, Alice. “Flag Does Funny.” Artsicle.com, September 26, 2012.
Shaw, Michael. “Matt Johnson: Turning 2x4s into Serendipity.” Notes on Looking , November 2, 2012.
2011
Daichendt, G. James. “Matt Johnson: Blum & Poe.” Artillery 6, no. 2 : 64-65.Kleiman, Bill. “The Curious Case of Matt Johnson at Blum and Poe,” Los Angeles
Art Gallery Tours.
Smith, Roberta. “A Bit of Hollywood, Minus the Tinsel,” New York Times, May 31, 2011.
2010
Rosenberg, Karen. “Venerable, Small, and Lots of Paper,” New York Times, March 5, 2010.
2009
Cotter, Holland. “Matt Johnson,” New York Times, February 13, 2009.
Finch, Charlie. “Pascal’s Puzzles,” Artnet.com, February 3, 2009.
Gartenfeld, Alex. “Matt Johnson’s Routine,” Interview, January 14, 2009.
“Matt Johnson,” New Yorker, January 21–27, 2009.
Sharp, Chris. “The Idiots.” ArtReview, no. 32 : 80-84.
2007
McElheny, Josiah. “Readymade Resistance.” Artforum 46, no. 2 : 327-335.
O’Reilly, Sally. “Funny Guys: All About Laughter.” ArtReview, no. 7 : 24.
2006 Campagnola, Sonia. “Focus on Los Angeles.” Flash Art 39, no. 246 : 71.
Casadio, Mariuccia. “Intimacy.” Vogue Italia, no. 666 : 484-489.
Hackworth, Nick and Hans Ulrich-Obrist. “Hung & Drawn Art News: Uncertain States of America.” Dazed & Confused 2, no. 33 : 142.
Knight, Christopher. “Daring to Tread on the Turf of a Master,” Los Angeles Times, October 6, 2006.
Lee, Chris. “Master of All He Surveys.” ArtReview 4, no. 5 : 74-79.
Searle, Adrian. “Rebels Without a Cause,” Guardian Unlimited, September 12, 2006.
2005
Finkel, Jori. “First Come the Dealers, and Then the Diplomas,” New York Times, p. 22-23, July 3, 2005.
Harvey, Doug. “Good Thing: Emerging LA Sculptors at the Hammer,” LA Weekly, February 6–10, 2005: 32-34.
Holte, Michael Ned. “Scene & Herd: West Coast Thing,” Artforum.com, Feb. 10, 2005.
Knight, Christopher. “Faces to Watch 2006,” Los Angeles Times, December 25, 2005.
Knight, Christopher. “The Next Big ‘Thing’ in L.A.: A Richly Satisfying Survey of New Sculpture from Southland Artists Energizes the Hammer,” Los Angeles Times, February 9, 2005.
Miles, Christopher. “The Idolaters’ Revenge.” Flash Art 38, no. 242 : 104-108.
“On Now, On Soon.” Flash Art 37, no. 241 : 45.
“Matt Johnson,” New Yorker, November 7, 2005: 20.
Spencer, Rosie. “Thing: New Sculpture from Los Angeles.” Contemporary, no. 75, 69-70.
2004
DiSilverio, Victoria. “A Night Out With: New Artist in Town,” New York Times, March 21, 2004.
Saltz, Jerry. “An Artist Worms Into Some Nicely Dicey Sculptural Terrain,” Village Voice, April 6, 2004.
Sholis, Brian. “Matt Johnson,” Artforum.com, March 31, 2004.
Subotnick, Ali, Massimiliano Gioni and Maurizio Cattelan. “Everybody was There: The Wrong Guide to New York in 2004.” Artforum 43, no. 4 : 182-183.

Museum and Public Collections

Astrup Fearnley Museum of Art, Oslo, Norway
Ekebergparken Sculpture Park, Oslo, Norway
Hammer Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Pérez Art Museum Miami, Miami, FL
Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY