SHANNON JOHNSON
I_Didn’t_Think_It_Would_Be_So_Sweet
The series of five monotypes, I Didn’t Think It Would Be So Sweet / I Couldn’t Love Just Anyone and I Could Be INFLAMMABLE (2024) have allowed me to explore a more expressive materiality in printmaking. These intense monotypes are built through layers of color, exploring fleshy and intimate spaces. The images are enlarged, close-up, to convey an overwhelming and intense emotion. The series delves into a level of personal intimacy and identity that had previously been obscured. Text is layered over the image, or on the body… At times the words are intentionally legible, while other words are lost under the swathes of interlayering colors. Working on large monotype plexiglass plates allowed me to open up my mark making and move into a more expressive and gestural modality that is more present in my painting. I am able to explore the sensuality of flesh and touch much better by combining the techniques of monotype with my practice of oil painting.
Monotype on cotton rag printmaking paper.
22 x 30 in.
Monotype on cotton rag printmaking paper.
22 x 30 in.
Monotype on cotton rag printmaking paper.
22 x 30 in.
Monotype on cotton rag printmaking paper.
22 x 30 in.
Monotype on cotton rag printmaking paper.
22 x 30 in.