Harlan Johnson

BIOMORPHIQUE
04.25–05.12.1991

In contrast to his earlier work, Harlan Johnson’s oil paintings—created on irregular circular forms and on a small scale—evoke the labyrinthine sinuosities of microorganisms, particularly the spore of the Ceredopteris fern, the initial inspiration for his new series of biomorphic works. His paintings are often built up of dense, layered coats of color that reveal their organic structure. This formal syntax, despite its apparent abstraction, evokes the phenomena of plant and animal life forms.