EAJarts

Eric A. Johnson
Biography

The youngest of six children, Eric A. Johnson was raised on a farm near Embden, North Dakota. He graduated from Chaffee High School in 1991 with a class of eight students. Taking an introductory art class at North Dakota State University sparked an interest in art he had always had; however, up to that point he had had no formal art training. Johnson dove in, taking all the art classes he could
. After several years of study Johnson decided to focus on sculpture, but ultimately found that printmaking was his true passion. He especially took to the reduction relief print technique, which was developed by Pablo Picasso in the 1950s and uses one plate to create a multicolored print instead of using one plate for each color. Johnson used this technique to complete a series of sixteen reduction relief prints in his last semester at NDSU, earning his degree in art in 1997.

In 1998 he began his studies at the University of North Dakota’s Master of Fine Arts program, studying under Brian Paulson, Patrick Luber, and printmaker Kim Fink. During his studies at UND he began his ongoing series of Cityscapes, inspired by recollections of his first visits to Chicago and New York City. By the time Johnson completed the program in 2001, it was clear that he had found his forte with printmaking, creating another stunning series of reduction relief prints.

After graduate school Johnson began an unsuccessful search for employment as an art instructor, eventually conceding after a year of searching. He reluctantly found two full time jobs and worked 70-80 hours a week for three years. In 2004, Johnson moved back to the family farm to eliminate the need for a second job, and focused on promoting his artwork. Johnson set up a make-shift “art cave” in his childhood bedroom and began to use social media to make connections with other artists and galleries. He began setting up stands at farmer’s markets, street fairs, and small group art sales. In addition, he exhibited in coffee shops around Fargo-Moorhead and small galleries around the region. Johnson also got back to work on printmaking, becoming an intern with the PEARS (printmaking education and research studio) program at NDSU in 2005. He started a new series, “Thirty Trees”, in which he intended to create thirty images of trees using different printmaking techniques. The goal of this series was to have each tree be different from the next and to expand his knowledge of different printmaking techniques. Johnson’s plan paid off; the name “Eric A. Johnson” has become a well-known moniker within the Fargo-Moorhead art community and he has proven to be one of the region’s most prolific artists, creating well over 100 prints and exhibiting extensively in over fifty regional and national exhibitions. His award-winning work is sought after by art collectors and corporate collections around the region. Art enthusiasts in the Fargo-Moorhead area often recognize Johnson’s prints and comment on the brilliantly hued landscapes; a result of Johnson’s unique use of color in the reductive relief process. In a recent article in Professional Artist magazine, Louise Buyo described Johnson’s prints as “[b]right and emotionally expressive, with loose lines that turn buildings and streets into more organic forms, Johnson’s prints portray the city as a channel of changing mood.”
Currently Johnson is an adjunct instructor of art at Minnesota State Community and Technical College (Detroit Lakes) and Concordia College (Moorhead), a member of the FMVA (Fargo-Moorhead Visual Artists), and coordinator for the Visual Arts program for the North Dakota Governor’s School. He also continues his involvement with P.E.A.R.S, having recently served as Master Printer through the program for editions by Canadian painter Ken Dalgarno and artist Star Wallowing Bull. An exhibition of 58 of his prints from 1998-2009 has recently completed traveling through North Dakota and Montana. He continues to create and exhibit new work and hopes to set up his own printmaking studio (Big Oak Press) near his home he shares with his wife Dera in Hillsboro, ND.