A New York artist, known as a second-generation Abstract Expressionist, Lester Johnson was born to a large Lutheran family in Minneapolis. He studied at the Minneapolis School of Art and the St. Paul Art School. There, he was introduced to Hans Hofmann's teaching approach, particularly the push and pull effects of form and color by St. Paul teachers Alexander Masley and Cameron Booth, both of whom had studied with Hofmann in Munich. After further study at the Chicago Art Institute, Johnson moved to New York City in 1947 and became one of the first downtown loft-dwellers. He shared a lower East Side studio with Larry Rivers and attended some of Hofmann's New York classes. Rents were cheap, but Johnson was broke much of the time as he tried to support his painting through a variety of part-time jobs, including teaching art. In 1950, he and realist figurative painter Philip Pearlstein shared studio space. Lester's wife, Jo, had introduced the two artists at a time when she and Pearlstein were studying art history at New York University.
Johnson's various studios, on the Bowery and elsewhere, were always one flight up with a view of Manhattan's active street life. No wonder, for over 50 years, street scenes have been a dominant part of his art. Johnson adopted the working techniques of action painting, which meant he used a great deal of paint. A tube of oil paint might be expended in seconds as he, like Pollock, physically projected himself into the work. The images that Johnson produced were not decorative, but stubbornly confrontational, oversize, brooding, thickly encrusted, scarred surfaces that were alive with recognizable objects and figures. Even today, few realize how radical it was for Johnson to depict a recognizable subject in an adamantly pro-abstract-expressionist climate. Sculptor George Segal recalled, "The Abstract Expressionists were legislating any reference to the physical world totally out of art. This was outrageous to us." The rebellion came naturally to Lester Johnson, and he remained tenaciously outside the mainstream. Nonetheless, he produced a body of work that influenced several generations of younger painters and confounded an art establishment in need of neat categorization. He remains one of the few painters whose work holds significance for both abstract and figurative artists. Johnson's animated men and women, with all their nervous energy, yield themselves only gradually to analysis and will no doubt be reinterpreted for many years to come.
$7,200Sale Price|20% Off
3 Crouching Figures #1
By Lester Johnson
Located in New York, NY
Ink and spray enamel on paper. Signed "Lester Johnson" and dated "1968" lower right recto. Provenance: Martha Jackson Gallery
Paper, Ink, Spray Paint
$3,220Sale Price|20% Off
H 39 in W 39 in D 2 in
Mickey Mouse Walt Disney Manga Cartoon Pop Art by British Urban Graffiti Artist
By Chris Pegg
Located in Preston, GB
Mickey Mouse Walt Disney Manga Cartoon Pop Art by Young British Urban Graffiti Artist, Chris Pegg, entitled 'All That Glitters'. Chris Pegg is a self-t...
Canvas, Paint, Cotton Canvas, Ink, Mixed Media, Oil, Spray Paint, Acryli...
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"Oh Geez", Double Portrait of a Woman with Spinning Halos, Aerosol and Acrylic
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Oh Geez" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipped in the featured woo...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 12.5 in W 9 in
"Imaginary Self - v2", Surreal Ghost Portrait on Dark Background
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Imaginary Self - v2" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 12.5"h x 9"w framed and shipped in the ...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"In The Distance (mini v3)", Vintage-Inspired Figurative Stencil Car Scene
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"In The Distance (mini v3)" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipped i...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 12.5 in W 9 in
"Double Vision", Stencil Portrait of Two Girls, Original Work on Paper
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Double Vision" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 12.5"h x 9"w framed and shipped in the featur...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$950
H 19.75 in W 15.75 in
"Make Believer (V3)", Hand cut stencil, acrylic, aerosol
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Make Believer (V3)" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 19.75 × 15.75 inches and is pencil signe...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$950
H 19.75 in W 15.75 in
"Crossing Paths", girls at a crossroad, hand-cut stencils and spray paint
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Crossing Paths" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 19.75 × 15.75 inches and is pencil signed an...
Spray Paint, Acrylic, Paper
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"We Really Saw Nothing", Double Portrait of Girls Playing Hide-and-Seek
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"We Really Saw Nothing" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipped in th...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 9 in W 12.5 in
"Something To Be Interested In", Mirrored Portrait of Two Girls Painting Framed
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Something To Be Interested In" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 9"h x 12.5"w framed and shipp...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 12.5 in W 9 in
"Whirlwind", Contemporary Figurative Mixed Media Work on Paper
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Whirlwind" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 12.5"h x 9"w framed and shipped in the featured w...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 12.5 in W 9 in
"Good Morning Glory - v2", Pop Art Stencil Portrait of a Woman and Skull
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Good Morning Glory - v2" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 12.5"h x 9"w framed and shipped in ...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$950
H 19.75 in W 15.75 in
"I Do Hear You, I Do See You (v4)", portrait of young girl among plants, stencil
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"I Do Hear You, I Do See You (v4)" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 19.75 × 15.75 inches and i...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$950
H 19.75 in W 15.75 in
"Down Girls", girls falling, hand-cut stencil and spray paint by Mando
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Down Girls" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 19.75 × 15.75 inches and is pencil signed and da...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$1,250
H 19.75 in W 27.75 in
"Could Be Good", Hand cut stencil, vintage imagery acrylic and aerosol by Mando
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"Could Be Good" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 19.75 × 27.75 inches and is pencil signed and...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
$475
H 12.5 in W 9 in
"La Luz - v2", Figurative Aerosol and Acrylic Work of a Kneeling Figure
By Mando Marie (seeyouthroughit)
Located in Philadelphia, PA
"La Luz - v2" is a one-of-a-kind original work by Amanda Marie (Mando), created using acrylic and aerosol on paper. The piece measures 12.5"h x 9"w framed and shipped in the featured...
Paper, Spray Paint, Acrylic
Sold
H 30 in W 40.5 in
"City Scene, Spring 1975", Oil on Canvas, Figurative Expressionist
By Lester Johnson
Located in Detroit, MI
"City Scene, Spring" is an exemplary work by Lester Johnson. An oil on canvas work, it's evocative of the fashions of the earlier 20th century as several figures are crammed together...
Canvas, Oil