Painter Jonathan Johnson goes for the abstract aesthetic in his latest exhibition titled New Paintings. The Halifax-based artist, known for his landscape drawings on canvas, deals with colour, movement and space in a new way. His usual full and colourful landscapes are replaced with deep black strokes and spots of colour. Most of the pieces focus on Canadian cities with the notable exception of a beautiful Paris scene. Johnson uses negative space effectively to frame his images and create depth. "I eliminated the stuff around the edges so the viewer can infer what's going on in the painting," says Johnson. "This kind of work is unforgiving and I wanted to challenge myself by getting it in one shot." Johnson "rehearsed" the paintings multiple times through sketches to get the right balance of minimalism and detail. The result is vibrancy and tension throughout the work.
To June 17, Gallery Page & Strange, 1869 Granville Street, 422-8995
