The Carthage Junction Depot proudly presents a one day only exhibit of the work of artist Perry Johnson on Saturday, January 18.
Perry Johnson is a painter and printmaker with degrees from Virginia Intermont College and East Tennessee State University. While in graduate school, Perry worked as a programmer, first for the web and then moved to application and database development. He has been teaching since 1999 and now teaches painting and related courses at Tennessee Tech University.
Truly a Renaissance man, his work displays his delight in the intersection of technology, science, and art. He recently led a grant funded workshop that allowed 30 American Chemical Society member participants to explore the chemistry of color and paint media in a studio lab environment. He has also presented his work: Meaning, Modernity and the Machine: Theories About Emotional Vectors in AI Generated Images as Artat the 2024 conference of the International Society for Research on Emotion, held at Queen’s University Belfast, Northern Ireland. And over the summer, Perry also served as resident artist at Belfast Print Workshop, Northern Ireland. During the residency, he worked to develop intaglio lift ground techniques using graphite, wax-based pencils, or oil based ink. Several plates were produced and three editions followed. Some of the work from these editions will be featured in the exhibit at the Depot.
Perry’s philosophy of teaching shines through in his own body of work: “Composition, construction, and craft are in play here. Answers come through experience. We fail and we fail often. A moment of experimentation is better than a week of speculation. Risk is inherent to creation, but I encourage students to see each colossal failure as a possible solution to another problem. The forked purpose here is to develop the skill and discipline to arrive at an intentional aim while also being open to possibilities one did not intend.”
Perry Johnson’s art will be on display at the Carthage Junction Depot Saturday, January 18 from 10am-4pm. The exhibit is free and open to the public. Some work may be available for purchase from the artist. The Carthage Junction Depot is located at 185 Gordonsville Highway, Brush Creek, TN.
