While I often present artists’ paintings in various relationship to wines, it is not often that I directly relate the paintings to a specific type of wine. However, during a recent artist talk at Auric Gallery in Colorado Springs, where Johnson’s paintings were on display in a show called Serenity, someone who knows I write about wine mentioned his art and Cabernet in the same breath. It struck me that exploring that metaphor is indeed an interesting way to approach Johnson’s rich painting style and subject matter.
First let’s get a good grasp on Cabernet. It is a red wine made from the Cabernet Sauvignon grape. It is one of the most popular types of wine because its flavors appeal to so many people. It tastes of dark berries, red fruits, with notes of soil and ash, dry spices, and sometimes even herbs. It is clearly of the earth. It is delicious and versatile when young, and it ages well. With that as an introduction, let us see where the wine, the art, and the artist take us.
The Conversation 36″ x 36″ oil on canvas by Kevin Johnson
The young man in this painting is more than a dreamer. His thoughts may have him floating in the clouds, but his clothing is of a practical nature. His interior monologue takes on the essence of a dialog with his future, with that which is divine inside of him and outside of him. While he will descend again at some point into the world where those practical clothes may take him to a job that requires his bodily stength, in this moment, he is lifted up by this conversation with the self and the Universe. His face is indeed serene, in keeping with the title of the exhibition, but his eyes see something in that distant horizon that he aims for and which gives him direction.
The rich violets, blue violets, and the earth tones are reminiscent of Cabernet and create a calm effect appropriate to quiet contemplation. The billowing clouds, though made of just vapor, provide a firm support for this young man’s imaginings. The russet color on the upper right seems to be lit by a bit of sunlight, sunlight which we see lighting up parts of the clouds in a hopeful manner. The calm that comes from this painting is not unlike a taste of a rich Cabernet, served at room temperature. It is earthy, but aromatic, like a thought that moves a dream into reality. The mood that Johnson creates is one of hope and possibility and a certain trust in the way that nature and the Universe can work things out.
This is a different type of contemplation. The young woman pictured here is not creating a dream. No, her mind is still and open to receiving the information she needs from the mysterious unknown that can send a sign, an indication, a turn of events that leads one on. She is not desperate or afraid. The white of her dress indicates the purity of her intentions. Remarkably the earrings seem like berries, and there are similar traces in her hair that bubble up and drift off into the atmosphere around her, carrying her request.
The earth colors in the background with their golds, reds, and oranges form a collage of the earthly, which are sprinkled in tiny squares in the foreground and background, the white of which echoes her garment and pure intent. The painting is called Seeking Guidance (36″ x 36″ oil on canvas). The tiny squares and circles bubble up from her throat and depart from her head like bubbles in sparkling wine, her own particular libation to connect herself to the divine.
Reflection 20″x 24″ oil on canvas
This painting is so very organic that it is as if the young man is nature itself. He grows out of the same firmament as the flowers, the same place that the hummingbirds come from. His brow and throat carry the color markings of the flowers and the leaves. The sweet combination of things makes him not unlike the grapes that produce a wine that is rich and full bodied. His is a mixture of the improbable, tenderness in a hoodie.
The hoodie is particularly important here because it so often has taken on a one-diminsional meaning in modern American society. It was a hoodie that young Travon Martin was wearing that drew the attention of self-appointed “neighborhood watchman” George Zimmerman. A hoodie on a young black teen fit the media-hyped stereotype of trouble that provoked Zimmerman, a full grown man, to get into a fight with a kid, which ended tragically with him killing a youngster who died with a package of Skittles candy in his hand. Martin’s case is far from the only one, and Johnson’s painting points out the fallacy of assumptions. The young man in the painting with his deep earthtoned skin surrounded by flowers and sweet hummingbirds is as worthy of love as any of the rest of us. Let us not forget.
Pink Monday 20″ x 24″ oil on canvas
A sprinkling of leaves and petals falling gently remind one of the berries, fruits, and spices in a sparkling Cabernet Sauvignon. The pink is a cheerful lift like the bubbles, but the expression on the face points out a fascinating layer of spicy complexity. Pink Monday gives a lie to Billie Holiday’s old song, “Gloomy Monday.” There is no gloom in this young woman’s face. Seriousness, yes, but also head-held-high attitude. She’s taking the world on in pink, and if you don’t like it – too bad!
Pondering the Dream 20″ x 24″ oil on canvas
There is more than a dream of being a great basketball star going on here. The ball and the shoes are just the outer trappings, his springboard to something greater. The red cape and the Superman shirt tell the real story. Yes, he may be thinking of getting on a great all-star team, but his aspirations go farther than that. So many Black athletes have distinguished themselves in terms of philanthropic endeavors that it has formed a message to the youth that there is more than just fancy houses, clothes, and cars to be done with the platform that fame can give. And even if one does not make it to the top tier of a sports profession, remember that Superman’s normal guise was very ordinary. Most days he was just Clark Kent, erstwhile reporter for the Daily Planet; however, when the time came to take action, he served. So, our young man contemplating the world represented by that basketball may also discover his own personal superpower, the one that lets him be someone’s superman..
Her Calmness 30″ x 40″ oil on canvas His Calmness 30″ x 40″ oil on canvas
One of the things that Kevin Johnson is working on now is digital sculpture – yes, sculpture created on a computer, but which can be printed out into a 3D object. While these figures show once again Johnson’s ability to create beautiful serene faces full of character, there is a strong sculptural quality to the planes of the face, the high cheekbones, the strong jawline, and the shape of the hair, as well as the orange object in the background of each painting. Serenity once again is the theme, along with quiet dignity. The beautiful highlight in pale lavender that delineate the structure of the young man’s face is a stroke of genius, as it lights both sides of his face and contrasts with areas of peach. Grays and earth oranges, colors perhaps more associated with the masculine, light the face of the young woman, making a yin-yang contrast to the male’s peach and lavender.
I shall lift a glass of earthy Louis Martini Monte Rosso in celebration of these paintings. Johnson has skillfully captured not only the look of Black youth but also has done it in a way that moves beyond media stereotypes. He reclaims the humanity of these young people, their style, and their dreams in a painted symphony of hope and aspirations.
An Interview with Kevin Johnson
For all of our talk about Cabernet, Johnson admits he’s a Chardonnay man, which he likes to combine with chicken dishes, Italian style calamari, or pasta with clams. He says this with the same resoluteness that he uses when he talks of his boyhood love of making art. “I knew when I was seven that I wanted to be an artist,” Johnson says. “It was just a matter of how to get there.”
Johnson got there by joining the army where he spent twenty-one years, rising in the ranks and becoming a Director of Food Services, managing the daily feeding of some 5,000 soldiers in Afghanistan. He applied those skills in his civilian life as Director for Brookdale Food Services, where yes, he even managed the serving of wines. However, the main thing that the army afforded him was the G.I. Bill’s tuition program, which allowed him to study at Full Sail, University in Winter Park, Florida, earning a B.A. in Computer Animation, and later coming near to finishing his master’s degree. He studied other artists, and studied with a famous artist, Thomas Blackshear (see Thomas Blackshear II) to hone his skills.
When asked what Johnson wants people to take from looking at a piece of his art, he says he wants people to see positive images that impower people. “As a sergeant in the army, I worked with so many young people who were trying to find their way in life but had no idea how to get to their dreams,” Johnson says. “I want my art to reflect positive images and to reinforce the will to achieve personal goals.”
When it comes to rules that must be followed in order to make good art, he goes back to the basics of some of the comic books that inspired him as a kid. He looks for composition, action, a good visual story, use of color, and emotional expression. Yet as he has matured as an artist, he also says that he has learned that art can be almost anything. Yes, there are rules, but often it depends on how the artist sees things. In terms of advice to young aspiring artists, Johnson says, “Learn to express, and be patient. You got to stick with it. It is not an overnight thing. Learn to network to find opportunities. Be consistent in what you produce in order to have a recognizable style.”
And as for Cabernet and Chadonnay, well the light and the dark make for contrasts, which an artist like Johnson knows are invaluable when creating images.
Kevin Johnson has been represented by Black Art in America, a gallery owned by Najee and Satiria Dorsey. In Colorado Springs, he shows at Auric Gallery. His work is also in a group show currently in Boulder, Colorado at the Dairy Art Center in a show called Black Futures in Art: Can You Hear Me? As well, his work is featured in a wonderful book, Changing the Narrative. Johnson’s own website is kevjart.com
For those of you who want a good guide to the wonders of Cabernet, I shall turn you over to an expert, Wine Folly’s Madeline Puckette, whose Guide to Cabernet starts with a luscious photo of a fat burger with fries. winefolly.com
For a look at Chardonnay and its three main types, I have an Of Art and Wine article that pairs them with James McNeill Whistler’s Nocturnes. “Whistler’s Nocturnes and Chardonnay, Unoaked, Oaked, and Sparkling.” ofartandwine.com
©marjorie vernelle 2024