p o r t f o l i o SCOTT JOHNSTON

c o m m e n t a r y

Photography Life can be broken down into any number of qualitative or qualitative moments:  the number of successes over failures: the number of good experiences over bad; how much you know; how far you've traveled.  What one gets a clear sense of when looking at the photographs by Scott Johnston is his fascination with the concept of choice within the context of human experience.  His imagery examines the question of why people do the things they do, and how the resulting actions shape and color their lives.   Sensitive to the elasticity of character over time, Johnston's subjects vary across the spectrum of age.  The vitality and adventure of childhood are contrasted against more complicated scenes of adulthood. The images ask the question, what happens to our sense of fun and curiosity as times passes?  At what point do choices become harder to make?  XXXXXThe artist creates scenes that illustrate some of the more demanding relationships that develop during ones life. Playing on the social and emotional dynamics that exists between people in diverse situations, Johnston portrays the human drama that exists between men and women, employers and employees, the rich and the poor.  He handles moments of confrontation with a unique blend of sensitivity and humour that softens the edge of difficult situations without diminishing their significance.  It is not a perfect world Scott Johnston depicts, but neither is it bleak and without hope.  Like a photograph, life can be read and enjoyed on multiple levels, although the issues that one often comes across may not always be black and white. - Selena Christo                                                             Paintings The creative mind of Scott Johnston has produced strikingly individual works of art that feature a bold use of color and a compelling vision of humanity.  The paintings display a beautiful sense of balance and harmony, with colors and shapes complimenting each other to wonderful effect.  His clever interplay and unity of color seem fitting for paintings that convey a message of human harmony.  The abstract figures that characterize Johnston's work appear to signify a collective human spirit reaching upwards to the heavens.  Their strength of numbers gives them a type of cumulative power that transcends the solitary individual.  Johnston's paintings hint at something mysterious and eternal in the human condition.  Like the figures in his paintings, one can't help but feel uplifted when appreciating the positive and optimistic imagery of painter Scott Johnston.- Dave Murphy Are you recognizing the patterns of life that help guide you, the patterns of your thoughts that can have such a profound effect on your everyday life?  In Johnston's paintings he seems to be saying, practise joy and it can't help but fall into place.- Donna Easton

b i o g r a p h y / c o l l e c t o r s

SCOTT JOHNSTON was born in Toronto in l966 and studied photography at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute. Selected collectors include Alex BANKS, Dr. Paul CHAPNICK, Morine A. COOMBS, Peter COHEN, Michael LATNER, Dave MURPHY, Mark PEARSAL, Steve TIMM, Maureen WHEELER

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